By Staff Writer
South Carolina Bulletin
The integrity of the South Carolina political system is being systematically dismantled by a web of financial entanglements between the Office of the Attorney General (SCAG) and the very legislators tasked with overseeing its budget. Recent investigations by the Palmetto State Watch Foundation have exposed a systemic pay to play culture where Litigation Retention Agreements (LRAs) serve as a conduit for moving massive public settlement funds into the private law firms of powerful House and Senate leaders.
When the Attorney General decides to outsource legal work to private firms rather than using in house counsel, he utilizes Litigation Retention Agreements. These agreements often involve lucrative contingency fees from massive class action lawsuits, such as the opioid settlements and the Centene healthcare settlement.
The inherent conflict is structural:
The Legislator Lawyer: Sits in the State House, crafting laws and determining the budget for executive agencies.
The Beneficiary: Their private law firm signs an LRA with the Attorney General. https://samueleburns.substack.com/p/south-carolinas-attorney-general
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