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To: Ilaine who wrote (5160)	6/20/2001 12:42:14 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 74559

I concur with you CB... Contingency fees are extremely necessary in that they make your legal advocate someone with a personal stake in winning the case, rather than just billing hours. I have heard of a case where the attorney for a respondent in a civil case racked up a rumoured $800,000 in legal and discovery costs over 3 years, only to recommend 5 months out from trial, that their client (an insurance company) settle. They reportedly fired him and hired another attorney who now has a mere 3-4 months to become completely familiar with over 30,000 pages of testimony and documentation before it goes to trial in August. The Plaintiff attorney, on the other hand, has his own money and resources at stake and will likely be much better prepared than the respondent will be. That said... I think obtaining these utterly ridiculous awards from the tobacco industry, where Lawyers become overnight near-Billionaires, indicates that its getting a bit ridiculous. Hawk