WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and John Shimkus, R-Ill., today wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey over concerns that the practices of attorneys at Milberg Weiss Bershad Specthrie & Lerach, and Scruggs Law Firm may have compromised the rights of litigants involved in class-action lawsuits.

Prosecutions by the Department of Justice showed that over a 25-year period, Milberg Weiss routinely paid kickbacks to plaintiffs who were representatives of various plaintiffs’ classes in class action cases, going so far as to create a secret fund located in a partner’s office from which they paid these plaintiffs.

In return for the government dismissing its case against Milberg Weiss, the firm agreed to accept responsibility for its role in the kickback scheme, pay the United States over a five-year-period $75 million plus interest, and implement a “best practices” program at the firm. It’s the $75 million fine that, in part, concern Barton, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Shimkus, ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
 
The lawmakers asked Mukasey to respond to the following questions:

1. “Please explain why the Department of Justice found that a $75 million judgment against Milberg was an appropriate criminal money penalty, given the $239 million in fees that Milberg collected in lawsuits involving kickbacks to plaintiffs.
2. “Please explain why Weiss was permitted to enter a fee agreement with the Milberg law firm after he was indicted. In light of this agreement, please explain how the $9.75 million judgment against Weiss is an appropriate penalty.
3. “Please explain whether the Department of Justice plans to review or investigate illegal or unethical practices of attorneys in class action cases, including but not limited to recruiting plaintiffs; paying plaintiffs’ class representatives; paying kickbacks to class representatives or to parties who refer plaintiffs to law firms once a successful judgment is obtained; and paying expert witnesses on a contingency fee basis.”

A copy of the letter can be found here.