A new class of class-action objectors

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: March 31, 2013

Tags: Center for Class Action Fairness, class actions, Public Citizen, settlements

What’s different about the recent trend is that settlements are facing skilled objectors who are willing and have the financial backing to take cases up on appeal.

Class action settlements face growing scrutiny by objectors, courts

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: March 31, 2013

Tags: class actions, settlements

Facing new objectors, class action settlements are attracting greater scrutiny from appellate courts, which are gutting those settlements and sending them back to be renegotiated.

In particular, the amount and proportion of attorney fees and the payment of money into cy pres funds, in which a defendant donates to a non-profit organization instead of directly to class members, have come under fire.

Medicaid preemption ruling nixes one-size-fits-all state liens

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: March 22, 2013

Tags: Medicaid reimbursement, medical malpractice, personal injury, settlements, U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – Several states will have to revisit their Medicaid reimbursement rules after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina law that set an automatic reimbursement rate for third-party tort awards as preempted by the Medicaid Act.

LegalTech 2013: from settlement predictions to social network tracking

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: February 19, 2013

Tags: CLE, computer-assisted review, e-discovery, electronic discovery, electronically stored information, ESI, Facebook, iPad, iPad apps, iPad mini, legal technology, LegalTech, practice management, predictive coding, settlements, social media, technology

Lawyers USA reports on items of interest to solos and small firm attorneys from the annual LegalTech conference, including software that can predict where a case will settle.

O’Quinn firm faces suit over expenses

Published: January 7, 2013

Tags: breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, deceptive trade practices, ethics, fraud, legal ethics, mass tort, negligence, referral fees, settlements, silicosis litigation

According to a lawsuit filed by former clients, the Texas-based O’Quinn law firm mishandled their silicosis litigation settlement funds.

Strategies to make your client’s award collectible

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: July 30, 2012

Tags: punitive damages, settlements, verdict collection

Ever wonder what happens after the headlines trumpeting the latest humongous jury verdict are gone? Do the plaintiffs actually collect the amount the jury awarded? How often and how much?

Whether a verdict is reduced by the trial judge, overturned or reduced on appeal by a higher court, or settled for less than the jury awarded, collecting a verdict is a high hurdle for plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Jury mediation: a new tool to resolve cases

By: Richard Gabriel
Published: March 24, 2011

Tags: juries, jurors, jury mediation, mock juries, settlement negotiations, settlements

Lawyers USA columnist Richard Gabriel has spoken to hundreds of attorneys, judges and mediators about their mediations and settlements over the past year, and has found that the question of whether to settle or take a case to trial contains a fundamental risk analysis: How can a litigant obtain better information to either resolve a case or let a jury check the boxes on a verdict form? To address these concerns, Gabriel has begun conducting jury mediations.

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