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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">McCollum</p>           TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is calling a bill that would reform the contingency fee contract into which his office enters with private attorneys his top legislative priority.<br /><br />A version of the bill was shelved in May, but it was re-introduced in December by state Sen. John Thrasher. The bill caps the amount of money private attorneys can earn while representing the State.<br /><br />\"Scandal-fatigued Floridians have heard about far too many shady deals involving public officials,\" McCollum said. \"This legislation takes aim at one of the most egregious forms of public corruption - pay-to-play politics.\"<br /><br />The bill also provides more readily available public information about contingency fee contracts, such as timesheets. It is modeled after the practices McCollum uses.<br /><br />The cap system provides a certain amount of attorneys fees for each tier of an award or settlement and allows a maximum of $50 million. McCollum, a Republican, is running for governor this year<br /><br />An amendment to the bill became an issue. It allowed outside attorneys to make more than the cap system allowed if the attorney general thought they deserved more and a majority of the four Florida Cabinet members (governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner) agreed.<br /><br />On the last day of the session for non-budget items, the House asked the Senate to recede the amendment. House Speaker Larry Cretul had the power to call for a vote on the amendment but did not.<br /><br />The original bill was amended by the Senate. Sen. Dennis Jones, a Republican, pushed the amendment.<br /><br />The amendment said the caps may be exceeded if the attorney general determines if there were exigent or unusual circumstances or specialized legal knowledge or experience was needed.<br /><br />Lisa Rickard, the president of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform, joined McCollum in calling for the bill's passage. The ILR owns <em>Legal Newsline</em>.<br /><br />McCollum's likely opponent in the governor's race, Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, does not agree with the legislation.<br /><br />\"I think we have to look at it on a case by case basis and get the best deal for the taxpayer,\" Sink said during a State Board of Administration meeting Tuesday, according to the <a href=\"http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/01/mccollum-and-sink-square-off-over-attorney-fees.html\" class=\"copy\">Orlando Sentinel</a>.<br /><br />\"We have to look at the case, how much money might be at stake. We want maximum value might be available to retirees and taxpayers.\"<br /><br /><em>From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.</em>"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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