Legal News

A Different Mess in Mississippi: the AG-Tort Lawyer Cabal

By Dan Slater

Should state Attorneys General be able to outsource their legal work to for-profit tort lawyers, who then funnel a share of their winnings back to the AGs?

That’s the contentious (and rhetorical) question asked and answered by the WSJ editorial board today. The impetus for the piece is a recent bill passed in Mississippi, a state that has grown into a veritable laboratory for legal ethics fact-patterns.

The bill would require James Hood (pictured), the Mississippi AG, to pursue competitive bidding before signing contracts of more than $500,000 with private lawyers. It also requires a review board to examine contracts, and it limits contingency fees to $1 million. Such “outsourcing” is how Dickie Scruggs was able to pursue tobacco massive recoveries on behalf of Mississippi and how other lawyers now caught up in L’Affaire Scruggs were able to bring tax claims on behalf of the state against Worldcom.

But Hood hates the bill. He’s trying to block the law in the state House, and the WSJ editorial board tells us why.

First, the profit motives of private tort lawyers, says the WSJ, motivates them to prosecute deep-pocketed companies in circumstances where the evidence and the law might not warrant prosecution. Secondly, the WSJ has found that the 27 Mississippi law firms that have been retained to purse state lawsuits over the last five years have collectively donated more than a half-million dollars to Hood in the last two election cycles.

“This kind of quid pro quo,” writes the WSJ, “is legal in Mississippi and most other states. However, if this kind of sweetheart arrangement existed between a public official and business interests, you can bet Mr. Hood would be screaming about corruption. . . . A decision to prosecute is an awesome power, and it ought to be motivated by evidence and the law, not by the profit motives of private tort lawyers and the campaign needs of an ambitious Attorney General.”

LB Unsolicited Oscars Commentary: Even though we knew Michael Clayton didn’t stand much of a chance against the likes of Daniel Plainview and the Brothers Coen, we were happy to get a couple bones thrown our way last night. First, Jon Stewart’s lawyer joke in his opening monologue: “Congratulations to George Clooney for his fine movie ‘Michael Clayton.’ The movie is a little over a hundred minutes long but since it’s about lawyers you can just round that up to two hours.”

Second, we must give a big LB shout-out to Tilda Swinton, who won best-supporting actress for her role as the completely neurotic general counsel of chemical company U/North. If, on this Monday morning, you need to be reminded of how not to behave when representing a client, click here and be warned!

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 25, 2008 (boomark / email).