Bill,

On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:26:11 -0800, William "Chops" Westfield wrote:

>...<
> Certainly
> there have been cases where the punitive damages claimed by
> defendants have been ... extremely large (not necessarily in
> copyright cases.  Other lawsuits.)  Of course, that's why lawyers
> take the cases; they're paid out of the winnings...

Ah, that can't happen here - lawyers have to work for agreed rates, with no "percentage of the winnings" 
aspect to it.  I think the ethic goes something like: they should work just as hard and do their best for 
every case, regardless of any financial incentive.

Non-lawyers can though - there are some companies of Claims Assessors (known as "Ambulance Chasers" in the 
trade!) who will assist you in getting "what you deserve" for a fee which is result-related, but lawyers 
aren't even allowed to do things "no win, no fee" (unless it's changed recently).

Cheers,


Howard Winter
St.Albans, England


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