Plaintiff Steering Committee (PSC)

A Plaintiff Steering Committee is the court-appointed leadership structure within an MDL, composed of plaintiff attorneys authorized to conduct discovery, retain common experts, and negotiate on behalf of the entire plaintiff cohort. PSC members are typically the largest and most experienced firms on the docket; they bear the common benefit costs and are entitled to a common benefit fee assessed against all recoveries. From a litigation finance perspective, the PSC composition is a critical due diligence input — well-resourced PSC leadership with deep MDL experience signals faster resolution and stronger negotiating leverage, while underfunded PSCs frequently turn to institutional capital to finance common benefit work. Funders providing PSC-level financing often receive preferred return structures in exchange for the systemic risk of funding the entire docket's development.

Funders evaluating PSC-level financing underwrite the committee's composition and track record as a proxy for docket health, since a PSC stacked with firms that have previously taken MDLs through bellwether cycles to resolution signals materially lower execution risk than a committee with only settlement experience. PSC-level capital is typically structured with a preferred claim on common benefit fee proceeds, reflecting the systemic risk of funding work that benefits the entire docket rather than any single client relationship.