George Landau of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch combined computerized campaign contributions and computer records of the Second Injury Fund, an obscure workers compensation fund, to show that appointees and political supporters of Missouri's Attorney General (and candidate for governor) William L. Webster win up to three times as much in settlements and fees from the fund than attorneys without those connections. The total value of excess settlements was above average at $12 million over 3.5 years.
The Post-Dispatch separated lawyers who file claims against the state's Second Injury Fund into three groups, each with its own degree of success in winning money from the fund. In almost all cases, the lawyers kept 25 percent of each settlement as their fee.
Average settlements paid from the fund: **Lawyers with no political connections- $3,548 **Lawyers who gave to Webster's campaign- $5,307 **Lawyers Webster has hired to defend the fund $11,808.