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Every profession, from politician to educator has greedy, on the moral edge people. Attorneys are no different. When they are good, that is great. When they are bad, they get rich--at our expense.
"Class-action lawsuits are becoming so prevalent that some legal experts worry the headlong rush to certify so many cases — and the settlements that result — may compromise fundamental principles of justice and place an unsustainable burden on an already creaky court system.
The most barbed criticisms are aimed at settlements that increasingly line legal pockets with millions of dollars in fees while plaintiffs make do with paltry sums or, more controversially, coupons for compensatory goods or services. In some cases, the awards would be so inconsequential to individuals that the money goes into a public trust that may never directly benefit the aggrieved plaintiffs."
They make millions and their "clients" get a coupon for a free soda.
"Ted Frank (no relation), president of the Center for Class Action Fairness, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm he founded last year, is on a mission to rebalance the scales between class-action plaintiffs and their attorneys.
“It’s often cheaper for defendants to give lawyers some money to go away,” laments Frank, now an adjunct fellow with the Center for Legal Policy at the free-market-oriented Manhattan Institute.
He cites a case brought against Motorola and other headset makers in 2006 claiming their Bluetooth products carried insufficient warning about potential damage to hearing. Under the settlement — since appealed — the plaintiffs receive nothing, their lawyers get $850,000 in fees and expenses, and the instruction manual was reworded."
Where is government when we need it?
More...
"Class-action lawsuits are becoming so prevalent that some legal experts worry the headlong rush to certify so many cases — and the settlements that result — may compromise fundamental principles of justice and place an unsustainable burden on an already creaky court system.
The most barbed criticisms are aimed at settlements that increasingly line legal pockets with millions of dollars in fees while plaintiffs make do with paltry sums or, more controversially, coupons for compensatory goods or services. In some cases, the awards would be so inconsequential to individuals that the money goes into a public trust that may never directly benefit the aggrieved plaintiffs."
They make millions and their "clients" get a coupon for a free soda.
"Ted Frank (no relation), president of the Center for Class Action Fairness, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm he founded last year, is on a mission to rebalance the scales between class-action plaintiffs and their attorneys.
“It’s often cheaper for defendants to give lawyers some money to go away,” laments Frank, now an adjunct fellow with the Center for Legal Policy at the free-market-oriented Manhattan Institute.
He cites a case brought against Motorola and other headset makers in 2006 claiming their Bluetooth products carried insufficient warning about potential damage to hearing. Under the settlement — since appealed — the plaintiffs receive nothing, their lawyers get $850,000 in fees and expenses, and the instruction manual was reworded."
Where is government when we need it?
More...