WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Class Action Attorney Fee Digest has been steadily publishing information on attorney fees in class actions and, as of August, it has reached 700 cases reported. Although a matter of public record, most class action settlements go largely unnoticed. With the advent of this legal journal in 2007, tracking these fees became much easier.
Editor-in-Chief, Stuart J. Logan, has been tracking class action settlements for twenty-five years. He described the response. "Readers were so excited about our research that they asked for more details. Could we also tell them about objectors and opt-outs and notice provisions? Could we tell them how long cases lasted? The answer is yes. If we can find it, we give it to them."
Produced by Octagon Publishing, Inc., a small independent publisher, the Digest contains articles on at least twenty class actions in each monthly issue. These cases come from all over the country in federal and state courts. Most cases they write about are not available in the usual electronic sources.
It has been interesting to watch the Digest evolve. One development in the second year was to assemble cases by circuit. Each issue -- conveniently tracking the twelve federal circuits in each of the twelve monthly issues -- provides a chart with the bare essentials of all the previously reported cases in that circuit. With a quick glance, class action lawyers can get a sense of what is happening in their area.
Also insightful are the frequent articles by Professor William B. Rubenstein of Harvard Law School. His column, The Expert's Corner, highlights aspects of the class action law debate. His breezy style cuts through the rhetoric and gets the reader thinking about his subjects in new ways.
Class Action Attorney Fee Digest has been a welcome addition to the legal research market for all class action practitioners-whether plaintiff counsel or defense counsel-as well as judges and academics.
About the company: Octagon Publishing, Inc. is a small independent publishing company based in Washington, D.C. that provides products and services focusing on class action cases and the attorney fees awarded. Its flagship publication is Class Action Attorney Fee Digest. It also offers smaller, issue-based quarterlies. The staff offers legal research and consulting services for current attorney fee petitions.
For additional information, visit http://www.OctagonPublishing.com/.