Editor’s note: This is the second article in a two-part feature examining ethical considerations in mass tort representation.
How can mass-plaintiff lawyers handle 300 or more individual cases ethically? Last week, I suggested that the answer is “with great difficulty” (“Viewpoint: How to Handle Mass Tort Conflicts,” Dec. 7). But the answer more accurately may be “they can’t.” As I suggested, if a lawyer has to truly give individual advice to all 300 clients those who would, for example, benefit from a settlement, and those, perhaps a small minority, who would be harmed it seems that a law firm could not fulfill its fiduciary duties to each and every client without giving conflicting advice.
