Reader's Digest discovers Lester Brickman

Reader's Digest has a story this month that gives wider circulation to Cardozo law prof Lester Brickman's latest proclamations on mass tort fraud. While I would never, ever, defend what happened in Texas with the whole silicosis mess, and I don't doubt that there are some problems with asbestos litigation in general, I do find Brickman's estimates about the breadth and cost of fraud to be a little hyperbolic. As with so many attempts to put a price tag on parts of the tort system, I'm a bit skeptical of his numbers, as well as his methodology.His rhetoric often seems to outshine the data. He loves to talk about all the plaintiff's lawyers in the "Sultans of Brunei Club" who make $25,000 an hour, for instance, even though few lawyers ever command that kind of money.

Also, he rarely mentions--nor does Reader's Digest--that he makes pretty good money working for the asbestos industry as an expert witness in litigation and bankruptcy cases. While researching my book, I came across one of Brickman's expert witness reports in which he noted that he his customary fee was $650 an hour. That's pretty good dough for a humble academic, and hardly makes him the dispassionate observer he's made out to be in the press....