October 26, 2007

• Annals of qui tam law: Justice Department says drug co. "whistleblower" merits no bounty because he "personally planned and initiated the fraudulent scheme" he later sued on [Meier, NYT]
• Law firm somewhat grandly billing itself as "National Legal Scholars" includes stars like Erwin Chemerinsky, Richard Lazarus, and Stephen Saltzburg, but you defendants are out of luck -- it only takes plaintiff's work [website via Childs]
• Many docs asking patients to sign binding arbitration agreements, and trial lawyers naturally want to shut down that trend [American Medical News]; Chamber-led Coalition to Preserve Arbitration is trying to fend off Litigation Lobby attacks in areas ranging from financial services to agriculture [Investment News]
• Plea deal by expert witness who falsely exaggerated his experience to bolster his credibility [OL Sept. 26] renews calls for hired-testifier reform [White Coat Rants via KevinMD]
• Trial-bar allies at FTCR already stoking anti-insurer sentiment on California wildfires [CNN Money]
• Welcome Glenn Reynolds readers [Instapundit linking this post]
• More on "Texarkana Triangle" (w/Marshall, Tyler) as forum-shopping magnet for auto product-liability claims [Southeast Texas Record; earlier]