Blog: Today in Legal Reform
Antibribery law needs clarification
“Congress and the courts need to curtail this latest antibusiness crusade,” says a Wall Street Journal editorial of the Justice Department’s increasing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. While the editorial admires the law’s goal of combating overseas corruption, the effort is hurt by vague definitions of foreign officials, weak cases, and prosecutorial misconduct.
Ohio court upholds legal reforms
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a 2005 tort reform measure that allows either party to a lawsuit to request separate trials for compensatory damages and punitive damages. The court rejected arguments from the law’s opponents that the measure violated the separation of powers, the Associated Press reports.
Text messages undermine FCPA case
The front page of the Washington Post details an FCPA sting case that was hailed as a “new chapter” in prosecutions but, after two years, hasn’t resulted in a single conviction. The latest salvo involves inappropriate texts between agents and informants, another example of missteps that led one jury foreman call the sting an “absolutely amateurish operation.” According to the story, the government’s case has gotten to the point that prosecutors are debating whether they should continue with the case or abandon it altogether.
Proposal to change attorney contracts advances in Mississippi
A Mississippi House panel has approved a bill that would give state agencies a say in the retention of counsel to represent the state. The bill also provides that all legal service contracts be approved through the state’s contracts review board, and adds public disclosure to proposed contracts for hourly as well as contingency fee litigation on behalf of the state. The bill, opposed by the AG, now moves onto the full House for debate, reports the Biloxi SunHerald.
Litigation Funding in Australia
A new report explores the potential conflicts of interest in litigation funding agreements, where a third party provides financing for a lawsuit in exchange for a percentage of any winnings. The paper discusses the impact such arrangements have on lawyers and their duties to their clients, which could take a back seat to the lawyers’ obligations to their funders.
Appeal of litigation dropping as more people opt for alternative dispute resolution
A new report finds that the number of civil trials in Pennsylvania is falling as more people choose mediation to resolve disputes. Plaintiffs are turned off by the high cost of litigation and its confrontational nature, and tort reforms have forced lawyers to be more selective when deciding whether to litigate a case. (Pittsburgh Tribune)
Minnesota House passes tort reform bills
Proponents of the new rules, which would limit attorney fees, reform class action procedures and reduce the statute of limitations, say that the changes will make businesses in the state more competitive. The proposals now move to the state Senate and then onto the governor, reports the Star-Tribune.
UK lawsuit funding regulations lack teeth to prevent abuses
The Law Society Gazette reports on ILR President Lisa Rickard’s concerns that a proposed set of rules for UK litigation funders lacks the mandatory requirements that could prevent abuses. “These investors are completely profit-driven and not in it to bring access to justice,” said Rickard. “We don’t think a voluntary code will have any teeth or enforcement powers and lacks any built-in safeguards against wrongdoing.”
Another FCPA setback for prosecutors
A federal judge declared a mistrial in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case against three defendants after the jury announced it was deadlocked, reports the Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week a jury acquitted two other defendants in the same case, which stemmed from an elaborate FBI sting involving the sale of arms and military equipment to the West African nation of Gabon.
AG can pass out contracts to law firms that make campaign donations
Sid Salter at the Jackson Clarion-Ledger gives a rundown of the ongoing fight over the Mississippi attorney general’s use of outside counsel, recalling the influence that trial lawyers had on drafting the law that allows the AG to hire lawyers without input from the Legislature or the governor. Before he went to jail for bribing judges, trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs said the situation creates a “magic jurisdiction … where the judiciary is elected with verdict money [and] the trial lawyers have established relationships with the judges that are elected.”
