7/22/08

Contingency-fee Cases Are Risky Business

This Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article by Jeannie Greeley, Risky business: How to avoid missteps in contingency-fee cases, states:
"While ... newspapers are filled with reports of million-dollar-plus verdicts and settlements and the resulting payoffs for the winning attorneys, the devastating stories of loss - and the price tags attached - often go untold."
The article goes on to share some stories of seemingly "sure thing" trials expected to bring in six figures, backfiring when verdicts go the other way, or awards are much lower than anticipated including one by Boston lawyer Andrew Abraham. Says Abraham,
"The idea that you would file frivolous med-mal cases is ridiculous, because we lose the good ones - never mind the frivolous ones," says Abraham. "The public needs to understand that. That's just economic suicide."
It also provides some tips for managing the risk.

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