Trial Lawyer Scandals and the Deafening Silence from the Plaintiffs’ Bar

by Lisa Rickard

When a major scandal breaks, the media spotlight becomes intense and those seen as representing the interests of the industry or profession exposed by the wrongdoing usually feel the heat.

But this tried-and-true formula doesn’t seem to hold when it comes to the recent scandals of some of the country’s biggest plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Steven Malanga, editor for RealClearMarkets, writes that even as super plaintiffs’ lawyers Mel Weiss, Bill Lerach, Dickie Scruggs and others head to jail or stand trial for their unethical and corrupt lapses, there’s comparatively little attention being paid to these scandals.

In his column titled, "The Trial Bar Behind Bars," Malanga suggests that while some in the public eye continue with the worn-out bashing of so-called "corrupt" corporations, "the biggest misdeeds seem to be piling up in front of the trial bar, although they barely elicit outrage or calls for reform."

He writes of the recent sentencing hearing of Mel Weiss, former partner in securities class action powerhouse firm Milberg Weiss:

Just a few dozen newspapers carried mostly brief stories of Weiss’ sentencing, and the paper of record, the New York Times, dumped their version on page three of its business section, even though the paper once called Weiss’ firm the King of Torts.

Contrast this with the "more than 1,000 stories" that ran within a few days of the Enron scandal, and the regular front-page exploits of the then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s near-decade-long anti-business crusade.

One can debate whether or not the media is treating the trial bar’s recent corruption scandal with kid gloves.  However, no one can dispute the fact that the trial bar has not been forced to answer publicly for the misdeeds of some of their most notorious (and successful) members.

A check of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) Web site reveals no statements denouncing these former Kings of Tort and their now admitted-to crimes. And to our knowledge, the trial bar has not been called to answer publicly in any news report for the corrupt acts of its most prominent members and funders. 

To be sure, the rank-and-file plaintiffs' lawyers are likely aghast at these scandals. Why would the average plaintiffs' attorney who is genuinely working in the interest of his or her clients want to be tainted by the transgressions of people like Bill Lerach, Mel Weiss, and Dickie Scruggs?

Perhaps its time for those representing trial lawyers to stand up and speak out publicly against the scandals that are damning to their profession. And surely it is past time for some in the media to ask them to comment about the scandals toppling some of their biggest members.

Comments

[Nike Shox R4]

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[H.L Mencken]

Comparatively, trial lawyer's unwarranted ethical breach's are far less then wall street corporate lawyer abuse of public ethics! These guys steal more in one day than any plaintiffs lawyer earns in a life time!Neither behavior is acceptable for members of the Bar and both should be equally and fairly punished!
Get off your rocket ship big brain elitists! You have traveled to the dark side of the moon once too often!It has eschewed your navigation dials!

[H.L Mencken]

Comparatively, trial lawyer's unwarranted ethical breach's are far less then wall street corporate lawyer abuse of public ethics! These guys steal more in one day than any plaintiffs lawyer earns in a life time!Neither behavior is acceptable for members of the Bar and both should be equally and fairly punished!
Get off your rocket ship big brain elitists! You have traveled to the dark side of the moon once too often!It has eschewed your navigation dials!

[Jackson]

Ryan, Scruggs entered a guilty plea three months ago, so the authorities actually don't have a long way to go before convicting him of any wrong-doing.

[ChamberPost]

Every “ordinary consumer” pays for trial lawyer abuse with each and every purchase they make.

Plus quite frankly it would sell ads. Ask any member of the general public how many CFO jokes they know? The public opinion of “trial lawyers” is so bad they had to change their name for Pete’s sake.

And as for the actions of single individuals, I’m sure you don’t believe that Lerach, Weiss, and Scruggs were doing all of the legwork here themselves? Transgressions of this magnitude requires infrastructure.

Bad actors that betray a public trust deserve punishment. And quite frankly, I think those who misrepresent themselves as providing justice while betraying a public trust deserve more, not less. (BP)

[Ryan]

How ironic that an article on the Chamber of Commerce website can tell the difference between media bias and supply-and-demand.

The Enron scandal appeared in every newspaper and TV outlet, because it very directly affected the pocketbooks of many small investors and employees, i.e. lots of consumers. If Dickie Scruggs goes down, how many ordinary consumers are going to be directly affected? It just doesn't sell as many ads.

Plus, many players acting in concert inside a corporation is a lot more intriguing than the wrong-doing of a single individual. There are too many examples of the latter, and they are not confined to well-heeled lawyers.

For the record, the Weiss scandal has appeared in media outlets all across the country. Dickie Scrugg's case has received less attention (though there have been long articles in several publications, including the rather liberal The New Yorker), but of course the authorities have a long way to go before convicting him of any wrong-doing. How much convicting-in-the-press would you like to see?