Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I am opposed to all caps on attorney's fees in this type of case. The only criteria for the amount of attorney's fees charged should be reasonableness in the context of the case itself. I have spent more than 30 years in courtrooms, most of that time representing the defense in civil matters, almost always for companies; in other words, against the very trial lawyers we speak of. So I have no bias in favor of those lawyers, but let me tell you this: representing plaintiffs in employment cases is a very hard job. These lawyers work for every penny they earn. They take cases that put their own livelihood at risk. Many employment cases take years to resolve. Often they have to go to court over and over to litigate discovery and pretrial matters, and all the while, they are not collecting a paycheck from that case, because they have taken it on a contingent fee basis. Without an award at the end of the case, they receive nothing, and they advance out-of-pocket expenses. But even more important, without these lawyers, low-income female employees with legitimate grievances would have no recourse. Only with a competent lawyer's help can they proceed. This motion, if passed, would discourage lawyers from taking these cases. And if they don't take these cases, employees, workers, families lose out. The only test for attorney's fees should be reasonableness.…”