Asbestos litigation is on the rise in Los Angeles County, as out-of-state plaintiffs' lawyers have started to expand their firms to the southern part of the state.
That's according to a Daily Journal article (subscription only) by staff writer Cortney Fielding, who notes that: "Large plaintiffs' firms from states like Texas and Illinois, traditional hotbeds of asbestos-related activity that have been slowed by rule changes designed to make it more difficult for cases to reach trial, are now setting up shop in Los Angeles. Dallas stalwart Baron & Budd, a 50-attorney firm focusing entirely on corporate misconduct, opened up in Beverly Hills in 2007, while Southern Illinois' Simmons Cooper also has placed its only out-of-state office in nearby El Segundo.
"Another huge player, Dallas' Waters & Kraus, first opened a small Los Angeles office in 2001. But it didn't develop a prominent presence until 2006, when it merged with the plaintiffs' firm Paul & Janofsky, becoming Waters, Kraus & Paul in Los Angeles."
Experts told the paper that even though the number of claims are rising, as attorneys who might have filed in other states turn to California, it's too early to tell if it will dramatically change the landscape for plaintiffs' attorneys in Los Angeles. But the influx of plaintiffs' firms coming into the state, and specifically to Los Angeles, means there must be new profit to be had, noted Mark A. Behrens, a Washington, D.C., attorney with defense firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
"Common sense tells me they aren't going out there because they like the weather," he said.