Greedy lawyers offer to reduce fee

primroselane · #1 05/31/10, 12:34 PM

The law firm Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern was initially poised to take home a third or more of a $657 million settlement negotiated on behalf of the workers this spring, but the future of that payout was put in doubt when U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the deal.

Hellerstein said the settlement contained too much money for the legal team and too little for people who are legitimately ill.

Now, the lawyers have told the judge in a letter that they are willing to cap their fees at 20 percent, or about $115 million.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...pid=sec-health

farmmom · #2 05/31/10, 06:11 PM

1/3 is pretty typical here for any type of civil award/settlement. I don't think it's right, but that is how it is. I discovered this during a civil suit against the man who killed my husband. The lawyer wound up with more money than I did after the funeral expenses ($5600), investigators and mediator were paid.

tyusclan · #3 05/31/10, 07:00 PM

That's why I think anyone who participates in a class-action lawsuit is a complete sap. They wind up with a few bucks, a discount coupon, or a free pair of jeans, and the lawyers make millions on the deal. Stupidest thing I ever heard of.

Mike in Ohio · #4 05/31/10, 07:02 PM

farmmom,

How much did you pay upfront? My guess is nothing. The attorneys working on that sort of percentage are working on contingency. That means if you lost the case then they get nothing. If it goes to trial and the award is low they potentially get less than the time/money they have into the case. For them it is a business proposition. If they really believe in a case and are pursuing "justice" then they would do it pro-bono (for free).

For the 9/11 case it is a little different. The attorneys know they are going to get a large dollar amount from the git-go.

But the bottom line is that many folks agree to these deals upfront. In a class action some get pulled in afterwards.

Just a few comments.

Mike

watcher · #5 05/31/10, 07:28 PM

Why should they reduce their fees? Did they not tell everyone involved BEFOREHAND how much the charge would be? If not its legal malpractice, if so then its "don't like it, sue us."