Lawyers Battling Over BP (NYSE:BP), Feinberg Concerning Compensation Fund

Lawyers are starting to fight one another over the BP (NYSE:BP) compensation fund being run by Kenneth Feinberg.

These are lawyers opposing one another, but two groups of lawyers representing plaintiffs.

When you come down to it, regardless of the smokescreen being thrown out by the 17-member plaintiffs' steering committee, it's about them losing business to the compensation fund, as those who make a deal with BP via Feinberg and the fund, aren't allowed to sue BP later on.

In December the lawyers filed a motion asking U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier to order Feinberg to make changes to the release form, adding of course that they contact a lawyer before making a permanent decision to accept a final payment.

This is a roundabout way of attempting to force BP, via their release form, to be a marketing arm of the lawyers.

When you consider the 30 to 40 percent the lawyers will extract from the plaintiffs, it's hard to see what benefit, if any, they get from hiring a lawyer, along with the potential long period of time before they see any money at all. How much is that time period being measured in value to the plaintiffs?

After all, what lawyer is going to recommend the plaintiffs to settle with BP via the compensation fund and give up their huge cut?

The other group of lawyers opposing the 17, are actually six firms, who want to keep things running as they are.

While there is a possibility these lawyers may get a cut from any distribution from claims, it isn't necessarily so, and would probably be much less per individual or entity than those who are fighting to get access to every person seeking compensation.

Those working directly with the fund will receive compensation which totally goes to them and not to lawyers.

In the end, this is nothing other than about how much more money the 17 lawyers can get from potential clients.