Mass claims: legal capacity for mass litigation and serial cases

Short answer: Mass claims need legal support on three layers: standardised case handling, quality control and a lead who aligns deadlines, templates and strategy. Team size follows from case volume, handling time per case and deadlines. Alpinum Solutions provides project lawyers and review teams through staff leasing or freelancing; strategy and court representation stay with your legal department and your law firm.

This guide is for heads of legal and litigation leads in companies and law firms in Switzerland and Germany facing mass litigation or serial cases. It explains when additional mass claims legal support pays off, which roles the team needs and how to plan capacity before the next wave of claims arrives.

What mass claims mean for legal departments and law firms

Mass claims arise when many claimants bring similar claims based on the same facts, either as individual lawsuits, joined proceedings or a representative action. For the defending side this means hundreds or thousands of files with a common core but their own data, deadlines and hearings.

• Waves, not single cases: Claims arrive in batches, often after press coverage, court rulings or campaigns by claimant firms.
• Standard with deviations: Most cases follow a pattern; the deviations drive risk and cost.
• Deadline pressure: Every lawsuit has its own deadlines. A missed deadline cannot be fixed with standard pleadings.
• Data at the centre: Contract, customer and product data must be located, checked and documented for each case.

The core team remains responsible for defence strategy, settlement policy and test cases. Additional lawyers take on the structured case work so that the core team can focus on the few cases that shape the outcome.

Which roles a mass litigation team needs

A mass litigation team works with four roles: case handling, quality control, team lead and the lawyers responsible for the proceedings. The table shows tasks and typical seniority.

Source: Alpinum Solutions, as of November 2026. If the share of special cases rises, shift capacity from case handling to quality control.

Mass claims with large document sets often need a separate review team, for internal records or disclosure requests. How to set one up is covered in eDiscovery in the DACH region: workflow, data protection and staffing.

How to calculate legal capacity for mass claims

Team size equals case volume multiplied by handling time per case, divided by the time available per person. You only know the real handling time after the first cases, so plan with an assumption and measure early.

1. Segment the caseload: Count standard cases, cases with deviations and special cases separately.
2. Assume time per case: Example with assumptions: 600 new lawsuits per quarter and four hours per standard case for intake, draft and deadlines give 2,400 hours.
3. Set available time: With 60 working days and six productive hours a day, one person covers about 360 hours in the example, which means seven case handlers.
4. Add overhead: Quality control, special cases and hearings come on top; in the example one person for quality control and one team lead.
5. Recalculate after two weeks: If measured handling time differs, adjust the team or the templates.

Alpinum Solutions presents two to four profiles per search; selected profiles are usually available within 48 hours, and the start date is agreed between the client and Alpinum. Teams can be built part-time or full-time (20–100%) and scaled down as the wave of claims recedes. For capacity planning beyond mass claims, see Legal team capacity planning.

Seven steps to build a mass claims team

1. Define case types and templates: The core team sets case groups, template modules, escalation criteria and the settlement framework.
2. Centralise deadlines: One deadline calendar per case, with a four-eyes check for statutory deadlines, before the first case is allocated.
3. Clarify data access: Which systems case handlers may use, who supplies contract and customer data, and how requests are documented.
4. Calibrate: All case handlers work on the same test cases; the team lead resolves differences with the core team.
5. Ramp up: Allocate cases by case group or court so that handlers learn patterns and procedures quickly.
6. Report weekly: Track intake, closures, special cases and error rate; update templates when new rulings come in.
7. Scale down and hand over: Reduce the team as intake falls and hand over open cases and templates with documentation.

Switzerland and Germany: what differs in mass litigation

Team set-up and workflow are the same in both countries; collective redress, the engagement model and professional rules differ.

Source: Alpinum Solutions, as of November 2026, based on the Swiss ZPO (version of 1 January 2025), Directive 2020/1828 and BGBl. 2023 I No. 272. The EU Directive also applies in Austria; assignments there run as freelancing or as staff leasing through Alpinum's German or Swiss company.

Limits and risks

• Strategy stays with the core team: Project lawyers handle cases to instructions; defence line, settlements and test cases are decided by the legal department and the law firm.
• External representation: Pleadings are signed and court hearings attended by the instructed lawyers.
• Templates age: New rulings change the arguments. Without a fixed process for updating templates, errors repeat across hundreds of files.
• Data and confidentiality: Grant access per person, log data access and close it immediately after the assignment.
• No outcome responsibility at Alpinum: Alpinum provides professionals and does not give legal advice; direction and outcome remain with you.

Frequently asked questions about mass claims legal support

When do additional lawyers pay off in mass litigation?

As soon as the core team can no longer handle case work alongside strategy, test cases and day-to-day business, or when deadlines become tight. A typical sign is experienced lawyers opening files and entering data instead of reviewing special cases. Calculate demand from case volume, time per case and available time, then adjust after two weeks.

What level do case handlers in mass claims need?

Junior to experienced profiles who work precisely to templates and spot deviations are enough for standard cases. Quality control and the team lead should be experienced or senior profiles with civil litigation experience. Responsibility for the proceedings stays with senior lawyers in the legal department or law firm, who also appear in court.

Is staff leasing or freelancing better for mass claims?

Staff leasing fits when your legal department or law firm directs the team every day and case handlers work in your systems and processes. Freelancing fits experienced individuals, such as a team lead working independently within the agreed mandate. Both models are available part-time or full-time, for individuals or whole teams.

Does Switzerland have class actions like Germany?

The Swiss ZPO provides simple joinder for similar claims (Art. 71 ZPO) and a representative action for personality rights infringements (Art. 89 ZPO) aimed at prohibition, removal or a declaration. Germany implements the EU Representative Actions Directive through the VDuG, including the redress action. For capacity planning, case volume and deadlines matter most in both countries.

Does Alpinum run mass litigation as a managed project?

No. Alpinum provides project lawyers, team leads and review teams and does not give legal advice. Strategy, templates, court representation and responsibility for the outcome stay with your legal department or law firm. That keeps knowledge of case patterns and data in-house, ready for test cases and settlement talks.

Next step

Alpinum Solutions is the leading provider of interim legal & compliance in the DACH region and provides project lawyers and teams for mass claims in Switzerland, Germany and Austria through staff leasing or freelancing, from junior to senior. It draws on 7,500+ legal & compliance professionals in the Alpinum database, interviewed and vetted in its qualification process.

• Litigation support and eDiscovery lawyers
• Document review lawyers and review teams
• Managed review or your own staffed review team
• Roles & practice areas: all guides
• Discuss your needs

Last updated: 11 November 2026.