Contingency-fee lawyers must select defendants who have deep pockets

Evidence

Personal injury law is not a charitable enterprise. To a lawyer working on a contingency fee and paying the expenses of a case himself, it is crucial that the defendant either have assets, preferably a lot of them, or a big insurance policy. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 338

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the incentive-and-enforcement logic of Milgrom’s law merchant and Bernstein’s diamond trade: dispute systems only work when the losing party can actually pay. — connects to: Attorneys treat contingent fee cases as a risk-and-reward portfolio. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 743; Contingency fees are the main reason individual plaintiffs can sue repeat players. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2265; Litigating a contingency case can bankrupt the lawyer who files it. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 17
• APHORISMS: A blunt working rule about where the money has to be before the justice can be pursued.

Broader Connections

• Litigating a contingency case can bankrupt the lawyer who files it. #expands (0.85) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 17
• Contingency fees are the main reason individual plaintiffs can sue repeat players. #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2265