Add this blogAdequacy of Counsel - Qualifications Not Covered in Rule 23(g)
Officially, I'm still on hiatus. (Although the author-reviewed copy edits for The Class Action Playbook went in to the publisher yesterday.) But today's article in the Wall Street Journal: "Lawyers Wrestle Over Driver's Seat in Litigation Against Toyota" deserves a brief post, if only to highlight some of the unusual qualifications plaintiffs' lawyers are touting in their applications to get lead counsel status on what they believe to be a very high-reward case. Among other accomplishments that might make for a good lead counsel:
- Daniel Becnel Jr. donated a kidney to his brother, and can still work amicably with his ex-wife.
- Mike Eidson once got the key to Miami Beach.
- Anita Jaskot speaks Polish, and is single.
- Richard Arsenault knows Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Starr, former President Bill Clinton, and the late President Gerald R. Ford.
All of these facts were disclosed in the lawyers' applications to Judge Selna. What do these personal tidbits tell us? One, in the words of Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman, "Nobody knows anything." Each of these lawyers is guessing at what might set them apart in a crowded field, but at the end of the day, that's all they can do -- guess. Two, people will brag on some strange things.
Andrew Trask has defended more than 100 class actions, involving all stages of the litigation process. While his work has