A recent madison.com story, “Crime and Courts: More ‘Tort Reform’ Bills Coming From the GOP” reports that recent legislative efforts by Wisconsin State Sen. Rich Zipperer places attorney fees on the front burner as the Republican majority attempt to enact tort reform similar to that which took place in Michigan 15 years ago.  Trial lawyers are opposing the measures, arguing that certain provisions deny injured parties their day in court.  “If this becomes law, all of those people who are injured, or the families of people who die, will just be (out of luck) says Mike End, the president of the trial lawyers group Wisconsin Association for Justice.

The proposed legislation (pdf) would limit attorney fees to three times the amount of compensatory damages awarded.  “We oppose politicians imposing caps on attorney fee compensation,” says Terry Jesse, executive director of NALFA.  “We work in a free market economy, where clients and attorneys are free to contract with one another without politician or government interference.”  Jesse concluded, “Judges determine reasonable attorney fee awards, not politicians.”