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The antidote to litigation spin

By Mark Obbie

Could there be any plainer or more compelling argument for thorough legal reporting, and against litigation spin doctors, than this illustration from the Paul McCartney divorce case? As Kevin Sullivan writes in today's Post, Heather Mills asked that the judge not release his written findings. No doubt she hoped to bank on lazy reporters' willingness to take her word for whether she is, indeed, entitled to be "so, so happy" with her nearly $50 million judgment (those were the words she used when the ruling was first announced). The ruling, which the judge declined to keep secret, portrays her in most unflattering terms, and makes clear that she lost most convincingly. Imagine all the cases where reporters don't bother consulting the court record, but instead rely on their own gut reaction ("$50 million? Wow, she's rich!") and on the self-delusional statements of image-conscious litigants.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on March 19, 2008 (boomark / email).