I'll also add, the average shareholder doesn't know that they do, in fact, hold shares. If you asked someone with a 401(k) or Roth IRA which equities their investments are held in, they're going to say "Uhhh... Ameriprise?" or something about the company that manages the portfolio, not the actual contents of the portfolio itself. We've abstracted the living hell out of equities ownership.
Given the numbers I see here [0], I wouldn't count on the lawsuits to cause a meaningful change in the Jack Welch tactics being used.
Most lawsuits are either dismissed or settled out-of-court.
[0] https://securities.stanford.edu/research-reports/1996-2019/C...
EDIT:
I'll also add, the average shareholder doesn't know that they do, in fact, hold shares. If you asked someone with a 401(k) or Roth IRA which equities their investments are held in, they're going to say "Uhhh... Ameriprise?" or something about the company that manages the portfolio, not the actual contents of the portfolio itself. We've abstracted the living hell out of equities ownership.