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Contacting Class Members Before and After Class Certification: The ABA's View

By Brent R. Austin, David M. Simon, and Nancy F. Afrasiabi
March 26, 2008

A question often faced by counsel in a class action is whether to contact absent class members. Pre-certification communications, for example, can be valuable to develop a more complete evidentiary record on the issue of whether a class should be certified in the first place. Courts have not always agreed whether the rules of professional conduct permit these communications. American Bar Association Formal Opinion 07-445, issued in April 2007, supports the view that the rules of professional conduct permit these valuable communications before a class is certified.

Considerations for Contacting Class Members

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