Better corporate governance? Lawyers in the gun? A booming market? Or just a brief aberration?

The number of new federal class-action lawsuits filed by angry investors has fallen dramatically and is now at its lowest level since 1996, reports the Washington Post.

The data comes out of the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and you can find its full report here.

Possible reasons include better corporate governance in the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley, or the senior partners of class action attack dogs Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman being indicted by a grand jury and under investigation by the disciplinary arm of the Delaware Supreme Court.

As the study's authors told the Washington Post, it's better to wait another year to see the data before passing any judgement as to whether there's been a permanent shift.

Who can blame them? Don't forget, lawyers are preparing for the next wave of lawsuits in relation to the options backdating scams.

And while investors have had little reason to sue in a rising market that had less volatility, they might change their minds with the sound of bears growling in this particular market.

Watch this space!