Big Litigation Firm Found to Have Acted Unethically
Say it ain't so, Joe?
"A federal jury in Chicago ordered a prominent South Carolina law firm yesterday to pay $36 million to a former client for what the jury found was unethical conduct in a class-action lawsuit. The firm, Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole, known for its lucrative work for plaintiffs in tobacco and asbestos cases, recently broke up."
As Overlawyered.com summarizes, "[t]he law firm negotiated a settlement (over the objection of its clients, which it fired at the behest of the defendant) with a convicted felon with tens of millions in frozen assets that gave the firm $2 million in fees, but 'next to no compensation' for the ostensible injured parties." The New York Times has the story here.