Class Actions and Group Lawsuits Legal Framework of the Year 2025
Headline: Collective Actions in 2025: A Global Shift Towards ESG and Consumer Protection
By 2025, collective actions have significantly evolved across multiple jurisdictions, with a focus on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) issues and consumer protection concerns. This transformation is reflected in the seventeenth edition of the International Comparative Legal Guide's Class and Group Actions 2025.
Litigation funding has played a crucial role in the surge of class actions, providing the necessary financial resources for plaintiffs to pursue costly and prolonged collective lawsuits. This is evident in the record-setting growth in class action filings, such as the nearly 170% increase seen in New England federal and state courts in 2025.
Consumer protection has taken centre stage in shaping collective claims, particularly in areas like environmental accountability and corporate transparency. Consumers and investors are initiating collective actions to address alleged harms or regulatory breaches, with a growing interest in issues like climate change.
ESG issues have driven an evolution in collective litigation themes worldwide. Courts are issuing landmark decisions that hold companies and governments accountable for climate-related impacts, broadening the scope of collective actions to include stakeholder-driven claims around environmental responsibilities. Examples include cases where planning permissions were challenged for overlooking downstream emissions and growing reliance on human rights frameworks in climate litigation.
Jurisdictional and procedural rules are also evolving, influenced by recent court decisions. Courts are limiting nationwide collective suits based on jurisdiction principles, compelling plaintiffs to file in states where defendants have general jurisdiction. Additionally, courts have raised evidentiary standards for certifying collective actions, requiring actual evidence of common unlawful policies rather than merely allegations.
Together, these factors create a landscape where collective actions are more frequent, complex, and strategically pursued, with a strong emphasis on ESG accountability and consumer protection. This evolution is supported by litigation finance, with procedural controls varying by jurisdiction to balance plaintiffs’ and defendants’ interests.
The chapter, "Developments and Trends in Collective Actions", included in the guide, provides an overview of these developments and trends in collective actions from a multijurisdictional perspective. The team behind this chapter consists of litigation experts such as Dr. Sonja Hoffmann, a litigation expert with a focus on financial institutions, real estate, business & human rights, technology, sustainability, and responsible business, and Raif Hassan, a litigation specialist with a focus on international arbitration and antitrust/competition.
The update includes contributions from a multinational group of White & Case litigation partners, reflecting the firm's strong presence in the United States, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany, and North America. The chapter also addresses the increasing global trend towards consumer protection and the rise of ESG issues and their impact on collective actions. Furthermore, it discusses the emergence of litigation funds/funders and their influence on the growth and direction of collective actions.
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- In the seventeenth edition of the International Comparative Legal Guide's Class and Group Actions 2025, the focus on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) issues and consumer protection in collective actions is prominent.
- Litigation funding has significantly contributed to the rise in class action filings, as seen in a nearly 170% increase in New England federal and state courts in 2025.
- Consumer protection concerns have been the driving force behind shaping collective claims, particularly in areas like environmental accountability and corporate transparency.
- Courts worldwide are issuing landmark decisions that hold companies and governments accountable for climate-related impacts, expanding the scope of collective actions to include ESG issues.
- Jurisdictional and procedural rules are evolving, with courts raising evidentiary standards for certifying collective actions and limiting nationwide suits based on jurisdiction principles.
- The strong presence of White & Case, a globally recognized firm, in countries such as the United States, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany, and North America, contributes to the guide's comprehensive overview of the developments and trends in collective actions across multiple jurisdictions, with a focus on ESG accountability and consumer protection.
