Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

“VA Barred from Publicizing Offer to Vets”

Brook no competition dept.: “A federal judge temporarily has barred the government from publicizing its free credit monitoring offer to veterans whose personal data was stolen and wants to see if they might get a better federal offer. Lawyers who have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 26.5 million veterans and active-duty troops […]

Brook no competition dept.: “A federal judge temporarily has barred the government from publicizing its free credit monitoring offer to veterans whose personal data was stolen and wants to see if they might get a better federal offer. Lawyers who have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 26.5 million veterans and active-duty troops affected contend that accepting the government’s offer could jeopardize their chance of winning more money in the privacy suit.” (Hope Yen, AP/Washington Post, Jun. 26)(hat tip: Florida Masochist).

4 Comments

  • Speaking as someone who just got a letter from the VA informing me that they believe that my information is on that stolen computer,”What gives this group of lawyers the right to file a lawsuit on my behalf without my consent?”.

  • So, if a veteran hasn’t been notified of the service, and there is fraud committed after this that such monitoring would have easily caught, can they su the lawyers in qustion?!? They SHOULD be able to.

    [Gratuitious and obvious insults to the lawyers involved deleted by author – everyone already knows, anyway.]

    • By Deoxy

  • My question is pretty much the same as Jim’s. Lawyers, via mass tort suits, seem to be selecting their clients. Shouldn’t this be the other way around? Furthermore, I don’t particularly care to receive the $.18 I might get through some asinine lawsuit, but I would be very interested in a free credit monitoring service. Why should some lawyer be able to make my decisions for me, especially when it is in that lawyer’s interest to have me continue to fight for restitution? Doesn’t this display a complete lack of regard for the client, as well as a conflict of interest?

  • Skating Zebra,

    For there to be a “conflict of interest”, the lawyers would have to ackowledge that there is some interest other than their own…

    (As to your main point about lawyers choosing their clients instead of the other way around… I agre completely!)

    • By Deoxy