An executive order signed today bars United States government agencies from hiring contingent-fee attorneys or expert witnesses to litigate on behalf of the government. The Institute for Legal Reform applauded the decision, and called for state governments to follow suit. A California court recently struck down such arrangements in that state as an inherently unethical conflict of interest. See County of Santa Clara v. Atlantic Richfield Company, No. 1-00-CV-788657, slip op. at 2 (Cal. Super. Ct. Apr. 4, 2007) (via the increasingly indispensable Beck and Herrmann). (Cross-posted at Point of Law.)
Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
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- "Trial Lawyers Inc. -- K Street"
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The order makes no sense as it doesn’t solve the issue of a conflict of interest. I covered this tonight in: Bush Prohibits Contingency Fees for Gov’t Attorneys
–ET
It’s a start!
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