Sunshine for Lawyers: Florida tries to end a trial bar racket
Editorial
The Wall Street Journal
February 24, 2009
The relationship between trial lawyers and state Attorneys General has been one of the more lucrative rackets of the past decade. In the latest sign the tide may be turning, the Florida legislature is now considering a law, supported by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, that would limit the amount plaintiffs lawyers could take home when they piggyback on lawsuits brought by state prosecutors.
This unholy alliance was employed most famously in tobacco cases and copied in shakedowns from pharmaceuticals to insurance. AGs send jackpot cases to the trial attorneys, who turn around and kick some of their contingency-fee winnings back to the AGs in campaign contributions. By outsourcing the work, Attorneys General can file more cases, raising their political profile. The lawyers, meanwhile, wield the power of the state and its publicity machine to force companies to settle.
