Alongside the social security agenda, George W Bush has been decrying the pains of frivolous litigation and has promised to make it tougher for plaintiffs to file malpractice & other big-money suits.

These are always interesting debates because it's one of the few issues where both sides have a lot of money to throw at lobbying and political donations. On the one side we have businesses, health insurers, doctors, etc who want litigation reform. On the other are trial lawyers, who want to preserve & expand plaintiff's rights.

One large set of people conspicuously missing from these debates are the defense lawyers. When people think of big law firms charging big money to big corporate clients, those guys are typically working on the defense side. Wouldn't we expect to see them standing shoulder to shoulder with their clients, demanding reform?

Maybe, until we realize their financial motivations are aligned with the trial lawyers. If the government makes suits harder to file, that means fewer suits initiated by trial lawyers, but it also means fewer cases for these big firms to defend against. Every time the plaintiff's bar wins another legislative concession, it just means more billable hours for the defense.

06 Mar 05