Everyone who thinks you can rely on a contract step forward. Whoa, not so fast, trial lawyers...

Some interesting dialogue has been going on recently about the Minouche Noel case and her dispute with her attorney, Sheldon Schlesinger, over his fees & costs from her med/mal case against the state. Schlesinger took on her case in the late 1980s, winning an $8.5 million judgment in 1999 against the state hospital where she was injured as a child. Seven years of lobbying later, after having to hire professional lobbyists, Schlesinger finally convinced the Florida legislature to pass a claims bill to pay the judgment. Governor Crist signed the bill back in May.

However, Schlesinger has now put a lien on the payment, saying he is owed an additional $500,000 or so in fees & costs under the contingency fee contract with Noel's parents. The legislature had capped Schlesinger's payment from the judgment at $1.07 million.

Most of the commentary on this case is predictable - "just another greedy trial lawyer trying to get rich on the back of a poor, injured girl." I don't buy it. Schlesinger worked on this case for nearly twenty years. He had a contract which the Noel family agreed to when the sought his services. Schlesinger is, by any measure, one of the most successful and sought-after trial lawyers in the U.S. I think he should be paid what the contingency-fee contract called for. That's the way it's supposed to work.

For some intersting takes on the issue, read Michael Mayo's column in the South-Florida Sun Sentinel, and a good comment about the case on Discourse.net.

Enjoy!