Can You Get By on 25% of 10 Million?

This short blog piece is dedicated to all of us that practice criminal law and defense and go out and hustle everyday. We are not so impacted by the adventures of the Attorney General on the following issues.

The WSJ praises today a bill supported by Bill McCollum to limit the possibility of jackpot fees when private lawyers team up with the state AG's office, a practice in which our state had been among the worst offenders during the tobacco heist.

The Florida bill, which would cap attorneys fees at $50 million, would hardly consign lawyers to a life of penury, unless you are Scott Rothstein and your wife is pressing you to buy a newer home. Outside counsel could receive contingency fees of 25% for the first $10 million, 20% of the next $5 million, 15% for the following $5 million and so on. I spoke to Russell Williams, chair of the BACDL. He says those are the new SPD rates.

The bill would also require competitive bidding and make contracts transparent to voters by posting them on the Attorney General's Web site. In case you want to discover how much you are missing out on. The article says the bill faces opposition from lobbyists in Tallahassee. I want to hang with guys that think 25% of 10 mil is not enough. What do they play pro baseball?