Class Actions and Government

Rachael Mulheron is Professor of Tort Law and Civil Justice at Queen Mary University of London. She is widely published in the class actions field and is also the author of the textbook, Principles of Tort Law (Cambridge, 2016). Professor Mulheron was academic member of the Civil Justice Council of England and Wales between 2009 and 2018 and, in that capacity, chaired various working parties, provided an empirical study on class actions, and served as principal author of various other reports and publications for the government. She also served as a member of the relevant rules-drafting committee in 2015, which prepared rules of court for the United Kingdom's first opt-out class action.

'For nearly two decades Professor Mulheron has been living, teaching, writing about, providing expert opinions on and helping to draft legislation in respect of class actions on a global scale. Now she has produced this excellent and eminently accessible text offering invaluable and practical insights and advice for anyone who wishes to understand how class actions are meant to work, how they do work in practice, and what considerations legislators and lawmakers should take into account when introducing or amending class action legislation in their jurisdictions. Her analysis of the government's dual role as legislator and potential class action party makes this work unique.' John P. Brown, Litigation Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Canada

• 1. Introduction; Part I. 'Preparing a Path to the Stadium': 2. Government as class actions enabler; 3. Government as class actions designer; 4. Government as class actions funder; 5. Government as 'gate-keeper': cross-border class actions; Part II. 'As a Participant in the Match': 6. Government as representative claimant; 7. Government as class member; 8. Government as class actions defendant; 9. Government as class actions beneficiary; 10. Conclusion: levelling the playing field.