Political Quotes

“although I am speaking on the same side of this proposition as did the Senator from Massachusetts, I believe it is appropriate for us to deal with this issue. Parties whose fee agreements we are interfering with have come to the Congress of the United States to ratify settlements that have already been made. If we can vote here on how much money States will receive and how they have to spend that money, if we can change the law to shift the burdens in tobacco litigation, we can address the issue of attorney's fees. I also agree with the amendment's sponsors that we can and should set the attorneys' maximum compensation. I do not agree, however, that the amount proposed in this amendment is reasonable. It is too much for lawyers who bring lawsuits in the future, when, under this bill, it will be much easier to prevail against tobacco manufacturers. At the same time, the amount is considerably too little for those highly skilled attorneys who took on the tobacco companies on novel theories years ago, when their chances of winning were extremely remote. If we are going to set maximum attorneys' fees, we ought to set them on a reasonable basis, a basis that fully accounts for the relative amounts of risk, skill, and investment on the lawyers' part. Unfortunately, this amendment does not do this. It does not make distinctions that I believe are fair and proper. For this reason, the amendment is not a good one, and I believe that it should be tabled.”