The debate over class action reform has long suffered from a lack of theoretical and institutional context. Much attention is lavished on the technical details of competing reform proposals, with little recognition that those proposals often reflect widely divergent--though rarely articulated--assumptions about the general purposes of liability law (for example, deterrence of bad conduct and compensation of harmed individuals). At the same time, little sustained thought has been given to the institutional context of class action reform--that is, the specific risks and opportunities of pursuing reform through the federal courts, the Judicial Conference, the Congress, or federal agencies.

Please join the AEI Liability Project for an exchange of views on the purposes and pathways of federal class action reform.