[nickff]

The fights are often more expensive than the settlements, and these settlements have gone from a rare black mark to being a cost of doing business.[1]

Similar discussions are common in the criminal law, and it is well-known that a large number of people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit; people do this because the costs to themselves and to their families are much higher if they fight the charges than if they just plead guilty.

[1] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/802ae15c-9b50-11e3-946b-00144feab7...

[JackFr]

In the criminal law there is a big difference between accepting a plea bargain, which generally involves the accused allocuting in open court and admitting to wrongdoing, and pleading no contest which is specifically not an admission of guilt, but a pragmatic decision that the costs borne fighting the charge outweigh the benefits.

[worldadventurer]

Quoting littletimmy above: You mean to say JP Morgan is appointed a lowly paid public defender and intimidated into a plea deal?

[throwaway2048]

lawyers fees dont cost billions (yet)

[JackFr]

You'd be surprised: http://www.thewire.com/business/2014/04/heres-how-much-ameri...

[leereeves]

Those numbers include settlements.

> This quarter, some banks paid out so much in litigation fees — including billable hours, court costs, and settlement payouts