Tresa Baldas is a staff reporter for the National Law Journal.

The financial services industry is facing an onslaught of overtime lawsuits, triggering hefty settlements from Wall Street powerhouses and raising litigation fears within the industry. Management-side attorneys note that the litigation trend, which started in the early 2000s, has accelerated in the past year, with at least one major company getting hit with an overtime lawsuit every month.

Most recently, on Oct. 1, Countrywide Home Loans Inc., among the largest mortgage lenders in the United States, was hit in Florida with a class action alleging unpaid overtime to loan specialists, loan processors and administrative employees. Weissman v. Countrywide Home Loans, No. 0:2007 cv 61398 (S.D. FL).