“Managerial Judging” – Judge Hellerstein defends his role in forcing a settlement in WTC cases | Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach

The plaintiffs lawyers borrowed $30 million at high interest to finance work done on contingent fee.  Patton Boggs and other defense firms funded by the FEMA-funed WTC Captive Insurance Co. got paid over $165 million in legal fees - as he work was done.  Guess whose fees got cut?  Was risk rewarded? - gwc
“Managerial Judging” – Judge Hellerstein defends his role in forcing a settlement in WTC cases | Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach: "Federal District Judge Alvin Hellerstein and his Special Masters Aaron Twerski and James Henderson have mounted a major defense of the court’s role in enhancing the settlement of the World Trade Center cleanup litigation by cutting attorneys fees and forcing defendants to sweeten the pot before he would “approve the settlement” – something the Rules gave him no power to do.  It is a fascinating case study of the pressures on lawyers who undertake complex contingent fee litigation, of the limitations on clients’ ability to meaningfully consent to settlement in aggregate litigation (RPC 1.2), the meaning of a reasonable fee (RPC 1.5), and the power of judges over plaintiffs lawyers working on contingent fee in MDL-type mass tort litigation." - GWC



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