Editorial: Trial Lawyers

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, March, 2008

Several of the richest and most powerful plaintiffs' attorneys in America may soon be shuffling off to federal prison - further tarnishing the negative image surrounding trial lawyers. Class-action tort king Melvyn I. Weiss pleaded guilty last week to federal criminal charges related to his role in a scheme to give kickbacks to plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by his firm, Milberg Weiss.

One of Weiss' former partners, William S. Lerach, was sentenced last month to two years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the scheme. Then this bombshell hit: Richard F. "Dickie" Scruggs pleaded guilty March 14 to trying to bribe a judge in Mississippi. Scruggs burnished his reputation as one of the most feared lawyers in the country after taking on Big Tobacco and reaching a $206 billion settlement in 1998 on behalf of 46 states. The case was the subject of the movie The Insider. ...