Why have I heard or read things in the popular media that are critical of contingent fee agreements and trial lawyers?
For more than the last decade some insurance and business interests in the United States have been engaged in nationwide conduct that has been noted by some to be tantamount to jury tampering. Through various front organizations that have names suggesting an interest in justice for all, these organizations have proffered so-called “tort reform” as a cure for the ails of our society. In so doing, they have vilified the contingent fee agreement and personal injury lawyers generally while urging caps on damages and fee agreements. Usually the proponents of these “reforms” say they are necessary to stop frivolous lawsuits. The caps on fee agreements are designed to destroy the Plaintiff’s bar, who work on a contingency fee, so that only those who can afford to pay a lawyer hundreds of dollars and hour will have access to justice in our courts. As to the claims regarding preventing frivolous lawsuits, these are belied by the facts. First, no contingent fee lawyer would knowingly bring a “fr
