Posted on 07/29/2009 11:43:30 AM PDT by MrLegalReform
Federal legislation that would afford trial lawyers a special tax break faces an uncertain future, says one of the chief lobbyists for the nation's trial lawyers.
The proposal would allow attorneys to deduct fees and expenses up-front for filing contingency-fee lawsuits. The proposal amounts to about a $1.6 billion tax break for plaintiffs' attorneys, estimates indicate.
"Everyone wants to do it, but the problem is there is not a tax vehicle yet," said Linda Lipsen, American Association for Justice (AAJ) Senior Vice President of Public Affairs.
Lipsen was speaking to the Birth Trauma Litigation Group at the annual meeting this week of the AAJ, the trial lawyers' trade group.
"You cannot have a stand alone bill to help lawyers … so we have to tuck it into something," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at legalnewsline.com ...
You'd think the folks at the Association of Trial Lawyers of America -- oops! I mean the American Association for Justice -- were ashamed of themselves or something...
I guess that everyone is a reference to the large pool of bottom feeding sharks.
Fabulous. They want to raise my taxes through the roof and give them to help the people that make my life miserable. What a country! (double barf)
What is the current rule. That fees and expenses are deducted as actually incurred? And income counted as actually received? If so, seems fair. I don’t know of any business that gets to make tax deductions in a year for expenses and fees it thinks it will have to pay in subsequent years.
LOL. Tax breaks for me but not for thee.
Sometimes the lefty interest groups make me laugh.
And this attitude is why many attorneys (defense and plaintiff) don’t or have stopped paying dues to the AAJ, f/k/a American Association of Trial Lawyers...nowadays, the only benefit is the car rental discounts for when you’re traveling and that aint enough for me.
By the time they get done writing the law in latin legalese most of our poor elected officials won’t even bother trying to decipher it and it will sail on through...
They should be.
What’s the diference between a lawyer and a catfish?
One is a bottom dwelling slime sucker...
The other is a fish.
American Association for Justice (AAJ) used to be the American Trial Lawyers Association, a blatantly tort plaintiff’s attorney group. I refused to join it for the same reason I refuse to join the ABA: way too much politics, and of the kind that makes me wanna spit.
Colonel, USAFR
Me, too - USAA, Military Officers Assn of America and Reserve Officers Association have the same benefits and are much less objectionable.
Colonel, USAFR
So tell me, are all the JAGs cringing at the thought that Obama might make a comment on any of their cases? Because it is clear he has no clue as to the meaning of “Command Influence.”
Raise taxes on wealth producers, entrepreneurs, businesses, and everything else that moves, but the trial lawyers get a tax cut.
Only in Obama’s America.
Me too on the AAJ/ATLA and ABA. Heck, I do not even participate in my state bar association because of its plaintiff bias.
Give ‘em a tax break and watch the number of junk lawsuits skyrocket.
Fortunately for all concerned, the JAGs involved on both sides of the GITMO cases are professionals who do their jobs to the best of their abilities, given the guidance available to them - most of which was objected to by the Service TJAGs when the commissions were first stood up.
Colonel, USAFR
I have to, as the State Bar of Texas is a mandatory state bar. As a general rule, though, I dislike socializing with lawyers. Go figure...
Colonel, USAFR
Hey, the AAJ does have a reputable “Republicans” branch/sarc.
ROFL.
Federal legislation that would afford trial lawyers a special tax break faces an uncertain future, says one of the chief lobbyists for the nation's trial lawyers.How about an amendment -- lawyers who lose their civil cases (or settle out of court) get executed immediately after the verdict.
“How about an amendment — lawyers who lose their civil cases (or settle out of court) get executed immediately after the verdict.”
It’s pretty tough already. Lawyers working on a contingency fee don’t get paid when they lose. Considering that it costs $20,000 and up to litigate even a small fender-bender, it’s a quick route to bankruptcy if you’re not winning your trials. That’s why I always advise people who are considering a lawsuit to get it evaluated by a lawyer who will take it on a contingency fee. That way you can be assured that you are getting an honest opinion of your chances of winning. Lawyers working hourly tend to encourage litigation.
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