Class action battles to shift to trial court from motions hearings

In the past, litigating a class action has been much more of an academic enterprise that has involved highly technical arguments before motions judges and appellate courts. The shift to trial will bring a change in tactics, observes Jason Squire, a partner in the Toronto office of Lerners LLP. “Because we act on both sides of these types of cases, our advice is that you pick your trial counsel early. Certification is a set of issues you're going to have to work through, to be sure. But determinations on their merits are a reality. You have to pick the lawyers that you want to act for you at trial.”