A national coalition led by Common Good, a bi-partisan legal reform initiative, announced that it filed legal petitions on May 6 in 12 State Supreme Courts proposing to change the rules governing the contingency fees charged by lawyers in “early offer” settlements in personal injury cases. The proposed change would reduce the fees received by lawyers in these situations, reduce court congestion and increase the incentive to settle, rather than litigate, certain liability claims. Most importantly, the change will increase the settlement proceeds going directly to accident victims.
Petitions were filed by Common Good and its pro bono counsel in each of the 12 States: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Similar changes were proposed in Texas in April. The states were selected based on geographic diversity and the availability of pro bono counsel. The rules being addressed are standard (with minor variations) across that nation. Similar petitions may be filled in other states in the future. The AMC/NOMA has signed onto the petition of Our Common Good on behalf of physicians in Northeastern Ohio. For more information on this organization, go to www.commongood.org .