This article explores the recent rise in class action litigation, especially in California, and how more and more businesses have started including class action waivers in consumer contracts and employment agreements.

Michael Mallow is a litigation partner at in the Los Angeles office. He has defended numerous class and representative actions prosecuted by private plaintiffs and governmental entities. He can be reached at . Jill Westmoreland, an attorney in Loeb & Loeb’s New York office, contributed to this article.

This article was first printed in the May 2008 edition of California Litigation magazine. Permission for article reprint has been granted.