Treasurer Shoffner’s Campaign Finance Woes Do Not Inspire Confidence!

November 10, 2011
Hold your head up, you silly girl, look what you've done!

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Mike Wickline continues his fine tradition of digging into the tangled web of state Treasurer Martha Shoffner's campaign finances (subscription required). What a horrible mess they are! The latest beef on Shoffner is that she accepted a $10,000 check from New York law firm Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLC, which was reportedly intended to represent five separate contributions of $2,000 each from firm employees. The legality of this is a gray area, according to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats Tagged With: , , , , ,

Weekend Reading! Report on ‘Unholy Alliance’ Between AGs, Litigation Industry

November 4, 2011
An unholy alliance

The conservative Manhattan Institute has a new report out (OK, couple weeks old, relatively new, whatever) focusing on the "unholy alliance" between state attorneys general and "the litigation industry" (private personal-injury lawyers, dubbed "Trial Lawyers, Inc." in the report title). Are AGs and trial attorneys "in bed" with each other, the report asks? Indubitably, the report answers. Oh, man, AGs and trial attorneys, you gotta keep an eye these guys!: In fact, our state attorneys … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel Tagged With: , , , ,

Wall Street Journal Profiles Center for Class Action Fairness

October 31, 2011
Class action

There’s a great article in this morning's Wall Street Journal by Ashby Jones, and I don’t say that only because it profiles Ted Frank, the brilliant, handsome fellow who sends me a paycheck every month. It’s about the Center for Class Action Fairness LLC, the public interest legal program where I serve as senior counsel. Here's what we do. The idea behind a class action settlement is that a large group (a “class”) of people has been treated badly; the settlement is supposed to … [Read more...]

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McDaniel Makes Right Move on Settlement Funds

October 20, 2011
Dustin McDaniel

When public officials make mistakes, they deserve criticism. When public officials do the right thing, they deserve praise. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel did the right thing recently, when he announced a revised policy on the distribution of class action settlement funds. It's a move that deserves commendation. Let's back up: This summer, McDaniel came under criticism, from this site and other media outlets, for directing funds awarded to the state from class action settlements … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,