A class representative is a person who sues on behalf of a group of similar persons and seeks to recover not only his or her damages but those of an entire group. You must meet certain requirements to serve as class representative. For instance, your claims must be “typical” of the class and you must be an “adequate representative.”  Most class representatives are not experts or professionals, but everyday people who have suffered a loss due to the defendant’s wrongdoing.

You must consent to the rights and responsibilities of a class representative. Our office will provide you with a form to sign that describes these responsibilities including: being generally familiar with the litigation, preserving relevant documents, and agreeing not to accept a disproportionate recovery. That’s all it takes to get the process started. Thereafter, you will need to participate in the discovery process by, for example, turning over your relevant documents. At some point, you may be required to answer questions under oath about your claims. In this event, you will not be required to possess any specialized knowledge. You will merely need to confirm your purchase and what, if anything, you knew about the product at that time.

No, once we have accepted you as a client, we will advance all costs and fees associated with your case. Upon successful resolution, we will seek from the court reimbursement of our costs and payment of our attorneys’ fees, which are paid from the amounts we recover for the class.

You may expect to recover your pro rata share of your damages. Often, it is difficult to calculate your damages and your attorneys may hire an expert to assist you in that effort. You should not expect to be paid for your services. In many cases, however, the court will grant incentive compensation to the class representative for the time and effort spent on behalf of the class. Under the appropriate circumstances, your attorneys will ask that you be awarded incentive compensation, which is given at the Court’s discretion.   While the amount of incentive compensation varies widely, one study found that the average award to each class representative is $15,992 and the median amount is $4,357, a small fraction of the total class recovery.