Oil spill lawsuits to start with clash over pace

Scores of attorneys will jam a federal courtroom Thursday to argue for almost immediate access to e-mails and other documents from BP P.L.C. and its business partners as the legal fight over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill heats up. The hearing is the first major gathering of attorneys involved in the sprawling spill-related litigation since hundreds of civil lawsuits were combined before a judge in New Orleans federal court last month.