1) Defense attorneys by definition don’t initiate meritless lawsuits, and
2) Defense attorneys who engage in sleazy billing practices primarily affect their own client, not an innocent bystander. And the client has every incentive to police his attorney — unlike the contingency fee plaintiff. (Of course, a defense attorney’s dilatory tactics can increase costs to the plaintiff, but his incentive to do so is limited by the fact that he’s also running up his own client’s costs at the same time.)