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The huge fees that Weiss and Scruggs were able to pocket stemmed from their technique of gathering very large groups of plaintiffs to sue corporations for damages. Weiss's genius was getting in the door first as lead counsel, using a ready-made stable of clients who, it turned out, were receiving kickbacks in what a federal judge described this week as a "nationwide conspiracy that continued for decades." Scruggs was also adept at enrolling long lists of plaintiffs -- whose damage claims were so sizable that corporations often settled rather than run the risk of multibillion-dollar payouts and possible bankruptcy. Scruggs's...

Scruggs Was Charged With Conspiring to Pay a State Judge $40,000 in Cash in Exchange for a Favorable Ruling Attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, famous for winning billions of dollars from the big tobacco companies, has pleaded guilty to charges of trying to bribe a Mississippi judge, according the Associated Press.

Federal agents are investigating whether former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott knowingly played a role in an alleged conspiracy in 2006 to influence a Mississippi judge presiding over a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against famed plaintiff attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Scruggs and several associates are scheduled to stand trial March 31 on charges that they offered $40,000 in bribes to State Court Judge Henry L. Lackey in return for a favorable ruling in a lawsuit against Mr. Scruggs over $26.5 million in legal fees. Mr. Lott, who is a brother-in-law to Mr. Scruggs, unexpectedly...

The Dickie Scruggs bribery case keeps getting curiouser, with yesterday's news that even the tort baron's former defense attorney has copped a federal plea. Mr. Scruggs was indicted in November along with his son and three other lawyers for conspiring to bribe Mississippi Judge Henry Lackey. Two of the defendants have already pled guilty and are cooperating with the feds. And according to court papers released yesterday, Joey Langston, who had until recently represented Mr. Scruggs, has now pled guilty to conspiring with Mr. Scruggs in a scheme to influence a different judge in a separate case. * * *...

BILOXI, Miss. -- Court records showed through ties to attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, P.L. Blake will earn $50 million. The Sun Herald reported Blake is earning that money for clipping newspaper articles and alerting Scruggs to maneuvering in political "cloakrooms," as Scruggs put it, from Mississippi to Washington. Scruggs has said that Blake will earn $50 million in fees over 20 years from Scruggs' share of tobacco settlements. Mike Moore, who as Mississippi's attorney general guided the tobacco litigation, has said he was unaware Scruggs is paying Blake such a large sum. Accounts of how Blake earned the money are...

The barons of the tort bar must have thought 2007 would be a very good year: Some of their biggest cases (Katrina, Enron) were set to pay out, and a Democratic Congress meant no more worries about legal reform. Talk about reversal of fortune: As the year ends, we are witnessing nothing short of the dismantling of what are alleged to be major tort criminal enterprises. Bill Lerach, the king of class actions, stands disgraced as an admitted felon. His former partners at Milberg Weiss face trial for being part of the same kickback scheme as Lerach. Federal prosecutors continue...

(Dickie) Scruggs arrested on bribery charges

The FBI in Jackson has been searching the Scruggs Law Firm on The Square since 10:30 this morning for a specific document that is "ancillary" to Hurricane Katrina insurance litigation, attorney Joey Langston said this afternoon. The FBI confirmed this morning that a search warrant had been executed at the law firm headed by high-profile attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who successfully sued Big Tobacco and has represented hundreds of policyholders suing insurance companies over Katrina damage.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) - Louise Scruggs, the wife and manager of legendary banjo player Earl Scruggs who helped expand the audience for bluegrass music, has died. She was 78. Mrs. Scruggs died Thursday, her family said. She had been treated for respiratory disease. The couple married in 1948, two years after they met while he was performing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville with bluegrass founder Bill Monroe and she was a member of the audience. After Scruggs left the Monroe band to form Flatt & Scruggs with guitarist and singer Lester Flatt, Mrs. Scruggs took over managing their...

Contributions in MississippiAre Probed by Law OfficialsBy MICHAEL OREYStaff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNALFederal and state law-enforcement authorities in Mississippi are investigating contributions to state judicial campaigns by plaintiffs' lawyers, including Richard Scruggs, a Pascagoula, Miss., attorney who made hundreds of millions of dollars suing the tobacco industry.The probe, which is at an early stage, appears to be examining whether money was illegally funneled to judges with the aim of influencing the outcome of particular cases, people familiar with the situation said. Mississippi is a key battleground in judicial elections because business groups consider the state's courts to be...