March 4, 2008

Can you guess who Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has picked as a member of a state panel that screens appellate and other judges? The New York Post's Kenneth Lovett reported the other day that it's none other than Arthur Luxenberg, name partner of the giant personal-injury firm Weitz & Luxenberg, at which Silver has been "of counsel" since 2002. ("He and the firm have repeatedly refused to reveal who his clients are or how much he is paid, although sources have said it could be in the seven figures.") Critics of the move include not only Post editorialists (more) but even a spokesman for the New York Public Interest Research Group -- and it's a pretty safe bet that trial lawyers have gone too far when even NYPIRG criticizes them.