Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC)

A Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC) is a court-appointed group of plaintiff attorneys selected to coordinate and manage pretrial litigation on behalf of all plaintiffs in a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL). PSC members typically handle common discovery, expert retention, bellwether trial selection, and global settlement negotiations, with their fees and costs later reimbursed through a common benefit fund assessed against individual plaintiff recoveries. For mass tort advertisers and referring firms, understanding PSC structure is essential because co-counsel agreements and fee-sharing arrangements must account for common benefit holdbacks. Firms that generate high case volumes through advertising may seek PSC appointments or align with PSC members to maximize their influence over litigation strategy and settlement outcomes.