Attorney says plaintiffs bar faces battle royal over oil spill suits
Legal News Line
August 14, 2010
For at least one trial lawyer, the biggest possible disaster arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill isn't environmental, but rather BP declaring bankruptcy in the face of an endless stream of lawsuits.
While addressing the Oil Spill Litigation Conference in Houston on Thursday, plaintiffs attorney Mark Lanier said trial lawyers face three challenges in the wake of the world's largest unintentional oil spill: the fight among themselves for cases; the legal system; and the least worrisome, the defendants.
Lanier, a Houston attorney known for his charisma and mega-million dollar verdicts in asbestos and products liability cases, admitted the "scariest" scenario threatening the plaintiffs bar is not an extraordinary defense strategy, but a potential BP bankruptcy ensuing from the looming litigation "free-for-all."
DRI, a defense bar organization, hosted the seminar on the Gulf oil spill litigation flowing from the Deepwater Horizon explosion at the Houstonian Hotel in Houston on Aug. 12.
Lanier attended the event as a guest speaker on the topic "Strategy from the Plaintiff's Perspective." Dressed casually in a T-shirt, jacket and jeans amid a sea of business suits, Lanier pointed out that he did not speak for plaintiff's bar but was only offering his personal perspective.
"I love you guys. (The defense bar) pays my bills," Lanier said in a humorous tone. "It's the other plaintiffs attorneys I have to fight."
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