Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar v. Sheatsley

Although I agree with the majority opinion, I feel compelled to file a concurring opinion to voice my objection to any future expansion of the majority’s holding to encompass the area of arrangements for contingent fees for expert witnesses.

In West Virginia, “a contract to pay a witness for testifyingU coupled with the condition that the right of compensation depends *278upon the result of the suit in which his testimony is used, is contrary to public policy and void for the reason that it leads to perjury and the perversion of justice.” Ealy v. Shetler Ice Cream Co., 108 W.Va. 184, 189, 150 S.E.…