Attorney’s Fees
* Re “Beware the New Political Machine,” Column Right, Jan. 21:
What fuels the righteous indignation over plaintiffs’ lawyers fees? Is it that people like James Pinkerton believe it is wrong to hold corporations accountable for unscrupulous actions? Or is it just corporate greed? Using the plaintiffs’ bar as a scapegoat clouds the real issues of private recourse and corporate accountability. Pinkerton warns that the legal principles established in the states’ tobacco settlement will allow lawyers to “reach deep into the pockets of every corporation in the country and perhaps the world.” What he doesn’t say is that corporations that act responsibly toward their customers have nothing to fear.
When corporations, their executives and shareholders make billions, it’s just business as usual. It’s only when a plaintiffs’ or consumer attorney is compensated for a job well done that alarm bells go off in the boardrooms of America.
JOHN F. DENOVE
President-elect, Consumer
Attorneys Assn. of Los Angeles
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