Back in June, I blogged on how the backdating scandal would turn into a lawyers' picnic.

Sure enough, the litigation is gathering pace.

A growing number of companies are under investigation but the lawyers, members of a profession that's always quick to find new ways of making a buck, aren't sitting back waiting for indictments. Not when there's money to be made and a chance of getting in ahead of the rest.

They have filed billions of dollars in lawsuits, with more in the pipeline, according to a Law.com report.

This is turning into a massive area for law firms and plaintiffs and it's going to get a lot bigger.

While some law firms are courting small retail investors, others are knocking on the doors of institutions who have deep enough pockets to fund a protracted complicated case, win or lose. Once they come in, it's a new ball game. Watch this space.

I suspect this will end up costing companies big money. But chances are too that the cases will be settled pretty quickly when charts of stock prices, options grants and minutes of board meetings are put before juries.