The NY Sun has a tawdry trial lawyer story:
Senator Schumer is drafting legislation that would let attorneys collect between 8 and 12% of a family's payout from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a victims' advocate said.Why aren't the lawyers just getting an hourly rate? Why is a lawyer needed in the first place?
The Schumer plan is a compromise between Senator Nickles, who did not want lawyers to take any money from the fund, and the trial lawyers themselves, who want no limit on their contingency fees.
When families raised concerns that some shyster lawyers were trying to horn in on excessive amounts of their September 11th Victim Compensation Fund money in return for helping them prepare claims, Mr. Nickles, a Republican from Oklahoma and the Senate minority whip, proposed a straightforward solution: No attorneys could get a cut of the cash.
He had not expected much opposition. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America had sent a letter to congressional leaders last September saying "100% of the compensation from the fund should go directly to families."
But now, the association - which has launched a pro bono foundation that it says has provided millions of dollars in free legal advice - is also saying that Congress should not limit the percentages paid to lawyers that help victims' families get compensated from the fund.
...
Some Republicans, speaking under conditions of anonymity, said they see the influence of the trial lawyers association at work. The trial lawyers are a huge source of campaign cash to Senate Democrats. Mr. Schumer has received $390,385 from lawyers and law firms in the 2002 election cycle, good enough to make him their 8th favorite member of Congress.
