First, we kill all the lawyers (w/o attribution)/>

In international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski’s latest litigation trends survey, 43% of corporate counsel surveyed said they expected an upswing in lawsuits, largely spurred by the economic crises.

Stephen C. Dillard, who heads the firm’s global litigation practice, said the survey’s findings represented a belief that the world is in “a period of economic challenge that is likely to fuel litigation over who is to blame and who should pay for the consequences.”

Michael B. Dorff, associate dean and law professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, sees little prospect of success in most of the litigation, although he agrees that a gusher of lawsuits is likely to occur nonetheless. He sounds a more cautionary note about the financial future for law firms, noting that lawyers, like everyone else, may be facing tougher times.

“If you look industrywide, the recession is going to hurt lawyers more than any kind of benefit they would derive from the legal work,” he said.

As a recovering lawyer, I find this all comical fascinating.

LA Times A common story around here.