US CONSUMER LAW

Consumer law focuses on the remedies available in most states and the federal government which have enacted laws and set up agencies to protect the consumer from inferior, adulterated, hazardous or deceptively advertised products, and deceptive or fraudulent sales practices. This includes those actions brought to enforce, redress, or protect private rights.

Typically, a sum of money is assessed for violations of consumer law. Consumer attorneys primarily engage in litigation work and are involved in the entire process of resolving the relevant legal issues in a court of law. This would include the preparation & filing of the lawsuit, pre-trial discovery, the trial itself and potentially the appeals process.

LITIGATION

Any legal issue can be litigated. For example, while the probate process is generally transactional, a will can be contested and the dispute can be settled in court. While there is a very structured set of procedures in the litigation process, a particular case may take ‘twists and turns’ and change in ways you don’t anticipate.

The best litigators are prepared, and not easily rattled by the unexpected. For many lawyers, it is their client’s goal not to go to trial. In fact, most issues filed in court conclude in settlement. Once in the courtroom, however, the litigator is a legal specialist who combines oratory skills with legal analysis and cross-examination to convince a judge and/or a jury of his or her client’s position.

CLASS ACTIONS

Complex litigation can have multiple parties and multiple causes of action, and sometimes cross jurisdictions. Examples are mass tort cases and class actions such as the breast implant litigation, the tobacco litigation, and the Dalkon Shield litigation. Lawyers involved in these cases are with private law firms or in-house, corporate counsel for one of the parties named in the suit. Generally, the large private law firms will be on the defense side and plaintiff’s work is handled by smaller firms.

PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS

One of the largest practice areas of consumer law relates to product liability claims. Numerous theories of recovery can be brought under single or multiple causes of action. They include negligence, strict liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and in some situations, absolute liability. In most cases damages are sought for personal injury. Sometimes, such as in the asbestos case, damages are available for economic loss. In certain cases, punitive damages are awarded.