Trial Lawyers Are Betting Big on Biden. What those donors understand is that a President Biden would nominate judges who are favorably disposed, or at least not hostile.

Reason ^ | March 9, 2020 | Ira Stoll

[karpov]

A Joe Biden presidency would be a bonanza for plaintiff's lawyers.

After his strong performance in the South Carolina Democratic primary and on Super Tuesday, Biden has been consolidating support among a wide range of key Democratic constituencies. But the trial lawyers have been backing him since before it became trendy.

Four Biden fundraising events tell the story.

On May 21, 2019, Biden had a fundraiser at a home of Orlando, Fla., lawyer John Morgan. Orlando magazine reported the event raised $1.7 million and reports that Morgan owns, with his wife, the plaintiff's law firm Morgan & Morgan, and also "ClassAction.com; Abogados.com (the Spanish word for attorney is abogado); and Litify, a software management system for law firms."

On June 18, 2019, Biden held a fundraiser at what a pool report described as "a tent on a balcony-like outside area adjacent to the law offices of Weitz and Luxenberg P.C. in Manhattan."

My review of Federal Election Commission records discloses about 50 contributions to the Biden presidential campaign from Weitz & Luxenberg employees, totaling $97,400. Most of the contributions are from lawyers, but an accountant and the firm's information technology director also kicked in. Many of the contributions are grouped around the date of the June 18 event.

Weitz & Luxenberg specializes in asbestos lawsuits. The firm paid former New York State assembly speaker Sheldon Silver millions of dollars to refer cases to it in a scheme that yielded federal criminal charges and a conviction of Silver that was eventually overturned by an appeals court. Weitz & Luxenberg was not charged in the case. The firm's website boasts that the firm's lawyers have obtained $8.5 billion in asbestos verdicts; they are also pursuing artificial hip-makers and Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

[DarthVader]

They are betting in futility.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Amazing how many people in this country are willing to put all their eggs in the senility basket.

[KC_Lion]

For your interest FRiend :)

[marktwain]

The revolution in tort law which has been put in place in this country since 1960, has been tremendously destructive.

[The Pack Knight]

I have seen a number of Houston lawyers posting pictures with him on Facdbook, so he has definitely done some fundraising from lawyers around here.

[SoCal Pubbie]

I think I understand the gist of your post, but if you explain the changes, I guess the overall themes or philosophy, behind those changes since 1960, I would appreciate it. Also, if there was one single case that year or if that was an approximate date you picked.

[marktwain]

The whole theory of tort law was changed, starting in the middle 50's, as I recall.

Here is an article from 1965 that deals with some of the changes.

Some of the other changes:

Allowing lawyers to advertise;

Encouraging lawsuits instead of discouraging them;

Enormous expansion of the "Joint and Severable" liability concept;

The rise of the class action lawsuit;

Here is another source

Essentially, tort law was changed to make if much, much easier for plaintiffs to collect damages, thus skewing the entire court system in favor of more lawsuits, and not coincidentally, I think, in favor of enormous flows of money to lawyers.

Tort lawyers are one of the biggest political forces in the U.S.