Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian published an op-ed in the Daily Journal warning that a small group of hedge fund-backed “case mills” are jeopardizing the civil justice system and handing corporate interests the ammunition they need to push tort reform.
In “Bad apples, big consequences: How a few high-volume mills are putting the whole civil justice system at risk,” the attorneys expose how high-volume personal injury practices fueled by hedge fund cash and aggressive advertising are designed for speed and volume, not substance or client service.
“These are not your local lawyers. They are brand engines. Case mills. Legal marketing firms masquerading as law practices,” Kabateck and Karnikian write. “These firms are a very small fraction of the plaintiffs’ bar, but they pose an outsized threat—not just to the integrity of the profession, but to access to justice itself.”
The op-ed argues that while the overwhelming majority of plaintiffs’ attorneys operate ethically and fight for their clients, a handful of mass-advertising firms are becoming caricatures that corporate lobbyists and insurance companies exploit to undermine protections for working-class Americans.
Kabateck and Karnikian call for the legal community to demand stricter oversight of legal advertising, transparency about financing structures, and accountability to protect contingency fees and preserve access to justice.