The competition for control of securities class actions heated up after Congress amended U.S. securities laws in 1995 to require judges to appoint a "lead plaintiff" to oversee the litigation and negotiate fees.

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The longer litigation ensues, the more fees build up for Defendants.

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The idea was to get large institutions to serve as plaintiffs, presumably organizations that would keep a close eye on the litigation and bargain hard over fees.

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However, if litigation gets backed up at the federal level, plaintiffs could incur legal fees that wouldn't otherwise have burdened them.

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We are not convinced that managers who charge excessive fees and even disclose to clients that their fees are higher-than-necessary, are free of litigation risk.

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Sarwal said he has nothing against contingency fees, and indeed many corporations use them in high-stakes litigation.

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The fees also are based only on cash paid back to the state from the litigation, not penalties or fines.

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Class-action lawyers are peddling absolution to their targets: In exchange for a settlement that includes lucrative fees, they can obtain a court decree ending the possibility of any further litigation over the same claims.

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Court caseloads have been reduced, the stress levels of litigants and lawyers have been reduced, the fees for divorce have been significantly reduced, and the satisfaction level of the parties is higher than for litigation.

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