Famed Attorney 'Dickie' Scruggs Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charges

Attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, famous for winning billions of dollars from the big tobacco companies, has pleaded guilty to charges of trying to bribe a Mississippi judge, according to the Associated Press.

Scruggs and two other lawyers in his firm, including his son Zach, had been charged with conspiring to pay a state judge with $40,000 in cash in exchange for a favorable ruling in a case over disputed legal fees.

According to the indictment, Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey cooperated with FBI agents to help document the bribery scheme. Lackey was presiding over a case in which Scruggs had been sued by another law firm for more than $26.5 million in attorneys fees related to Hurricane Katrina insurance claims.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal details how Scruggs, despite earning almost $1 billion from tobacco litigation, has tenaciously fought over sharing legal settlements with other law firms.

Scruggs was featured on an ABC News "20/20" report that detailed his efforts to sue State Farm Insurance on behalf of policyholders who said their Hurricane Katrina-related claims were falsely denied.

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