Yes, because it’s December, I’ve got to flog you into going and voting for Overlawyered in the ABA Best-Law-Blog contest, which I’ve been remiss about doing. Worse yet, in the absence of a serious effort from anyone but Patently-O, a small trial-lawyer-allied blog is now mounting a campaign to win. If that doesn’t get some of you guys to go over and vote, I’m not sure what will. Earlier post here.
U.K.: “Lawyers made millions from sick miners”
“The men who became two of the highest-paid solicitors in Britain by mishandling the claims of almost 100,000 sick miners will be struck off [= disbarred] after being found guilty of misconduct yesterday. James Beresford and Douglas Smith, partners in the South Yorkshire firm Beresfords, took advantage of vulnerable miners by putting their own commercial goals before those of their clients, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found. The company earned more than £115m under a government scheme for compensating miners with health claims, and Beresford himself made more than £16m in one year.” Among allegations the tribunal accepted as valid were acting in a conflict of interest and structuring fee arrangements in a way not in the clients’ best interest. (Afua Hirsch, Guardian, Dec. 12; Point of Law, Nov. 28).
Edward Fagan disbarred
A flamboyant lawyer we’ve been writing about for a long time, best known for international reparations suits, seems to have reached the end of his professional road. (Noeleen G. Walder, “Lawyer Disbarred for Failing to Pay Sanctions, Fees in Holocaust Case”, New York Law Journal, Dec. 12). Earlier coverage: Feb. 1, 2008, Nov. 26, 2005, etc., etc.
“The Weirdest Legal Cases of 2008”
Gary Slapper does an annual roundup for the Times Online (U.K.). This one includes the case of a bodybuilder whose loud grunts while working out became intolerable to his neighbors, and a man in Macedonia who sued a bear for stealing honey. (Dec. 5).
Update: Chuck Colson and Miller-Jenkins case
For the fifth time, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Lisa Miller, the Virginia woman who is defying a court order requiring her to allow child visitation by her former lesbian partner. I’ve tracked the case for years as an example of the tendency of some organized Religious Right legal groups — in this case the misnamed Liberty Counsel — to pursue meritless legal positions at length. (Drew Houff, “Justices won’t hear Miller’s visitation request”, Winchester (Va.) Star, Dec. 12) (via Box Turtle Bulletin). One of the Miller camp’s most vocal and misleading public advocates has been evangelist Chuck Colson, who just was awarded a Presidential Citizenship Medal; I discuss that development (and Colson’s career) in a lengthy post this morning over at Secular Right.
EPA not going to RFK Jr.
Marc Dreier stole $380 million?
That’s what federal prosecutors claim. And he didn’t even do it legally, like a tobacco lawyer. More: NYLJ, Forbes.
Patrick @ Popehat provides a suitable point of comparison: earlier this month the biggest jewel theft in French history, described as a landmark in the history of crime, resulted in a loss of $108 million. “One Lawyer With His Briefcase Can Steal More Than A Hundred Men With Guns”.
Answer to Mickey Kaus
A. Because protecting the UAW’s contract, and the entrenchment of auto dealers under horrible state laws, and the executives’ perks, and the CAFE-law irrationalities, and the various goodies a half-dozen other constituencies want to hold on to, is the whole point of structuring the bailout the way Congress is structuring it. You’re welcome. (Dec. 11).
P.S. At Forbes, Dan Gerstein wonders why Chrysler’s rich parent Cerberus deserves bailing out.
Snapping goose causes slip-fall, the sequel
Last year we covered the unsuccessful suit against Contemporary Watercrafters, a Rockville, Md.-based pool maintenance business. It’s getting some more attention now as one of the entries in the U.S. Chamber’s Faces of Lawsuit Abuse campaign (careful, it auto-plays video with sound). Angle we didn’t mention in our earlier post: the owner was annoyed at the mess made by the geese and approached the Humane Society about removal but was told “it was a no-go — the Migratory Species Act forbade him from moving or disturbing the geese. All he could do was wait for their goslings to hatch and hope they then moved on of their own free will. The store put up tape around the area and signs warning passersby of the terrible geese threat.” (On the Record (Md. Daily Record blog), Dec. 9).
Members of client class filed $6.1 million in claims…
…and the judge hearing an attorneys’-fee petition in the TJX credit-card data-breach case reasoned that the lawyers didn’t really deserve $6.5 million in fees for achieving that result. The lawyers proposed, but the judge was unimpressed with, a theory that their suit had “made available” $200 million to the class, even if few class members stopped by to pick it up. Such sticklers, these judges can be. (Beck and Herrmann, Nov. 11). Related: Dec. 4, 2007.