The big drugmaker, which is still trying to wind down diet-pill litigation and now faces a new round of embarrassing courtroom revelations over Prempro lawsuits, may end its relationship with the Dechert law firm, according to some new speculation.

Supposedly, Dechert implemented an across-the-board rate increase of 20 percent, and Wyeth is balking. Lawyers at the firm, which also represents Merck in its Vioxx litigation, last year reportedly generated revenue per lawyer of $816,000, a 16.5 percent increase, and revenue per lawyer of $1.9 million, up from $1.56 million.

Thanks to Wyeth, Dechert is ringing the register all the time. Now shareholders, generally, consider legal fees as part of the cost of doing business. And of course, a drugmaker is likely to get sued over its products, no matter how what they do. It’s a litigious world.

But just imagine. If the contentious safety issues over various medicines - fen-phen; Prempro; Vioxx; Zyprexa; Rezulin; Propulsid; Accutane, et al - never occurred, drugmakers wouldn’t be spending so much on lawyers. The money does add up, and cutting expenses isn’t a bad thing.

Of course, the lawyers wouldn’t like it, but well, that’s another discussion.[tags]Dechert, Legal Fees, Wyeth[/tags]