Trial Lawyers' Influence

Trial Lawyers' Influence

Personal injury lawsuits and other tort claims represent a $40 billion per year industry built upon the abuse and misuse of America’s legal system by contingency-fee lawyers. While these trial lawyers (or plaintiffs’ lawyers or personal injury lawyers) have long claimed to champion “the little guy,” their injured and uninjured plaintiffs are often drawn into a legal process that primarily just expands trial lawyers’ finances and political power.

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Issue Resources: Trial Lawyers' Influence

About the Panel: Trial Bar Trends We Don't Want to Continue

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At the 12th Annual Legal Reform Summit on October 26, 2011, Katherine L. Adams, the Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Honeywell International, Inc., took part in a panel discussion entitled "Trends We Don't Want To Continue: A Look at the Latest Lawsuits and Theories from The Trial Bar." In this video, she provides an overview of the panel discussion.

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Dec 16, 2011

Testimony of John Bellinger Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on "Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments"

On November 15, 2011, John B. Bellinger, III, Partner at Arnold & Porter LLP and Adjunct Senior Fellow in International and National Security Law at the Council on Foreign Relations, testified on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments." LEARN MORE »

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Nov 15, 2011

Access to Justice or the Bottom Line? The Growing Commercialization of the Practice of Law

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This panel at the 12th Annual Legal Reform Summit on October 26, 2011 addressed the “commercialization” of the practice of law through issues such as third-party litigation financing, where outside investors have a stake in the outcome of ligation; the new trial lawyer “bounty hunter” ads on the internet; and the growing interest in allowing investors to partner with lawyers in law firms.

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 26, 2011

The Plaintiffs' Bar Goes Digital

Released at the 12th Annual Legal Reform Summit, this presentation reveals the digital tactics of the trial bar -- where and how they are spending their money to advertise online.

Source: New Media Strategies
Released: Oct 26, 2011

Lawyers Mass Tort Solicitation Advertising

Released at the 12th Annual Legal Reform Summit, this study of trial lawyer advertising found that lawyers spent $844 million on advertising in 2010 and that spending by trial lawyers has risen by an average of 8.1% a year since 2004.

Source: Kantar Media
Released: Oct 26, 2011

Letter to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee opposing nomination of John 'Jack' McConnell to the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Source: Institute for Legal Reform | Released: May 11, 2010

Promoting Merit in Merit Selection

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform examined the various state merit selection practices for fairness, effectiveness and independence. Arizona leads the nation with the procedures it has put in place to fulfill the promise of true nonpartisan “merit” selection. This document describes what we believe are the “best practices” that have come from the writings of legal experts in this area and from the real-world Arizona experience.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 28, 2009

Beyond Due Process - A Litigation Primer: Challenging Attorney General and Other Government Contingency Fee Arrangements

Defendants in government contingency fee lawsuits should consider a variety of non-due process “bright line” challenges to contingency fee arrangements. These include challenges based on the government’s control or lack of control of the case and whether it was brought and is being litigated in the public interest; as well as challenges based on state separation of powers provisions, government contracting laws, and laws pertaining to government employment of outside counsel. This paper highlights these challenges as well as the limitations of certain of these challenges in qui tam suits, which have been brought by private plaintiffs’ attorneys to circumvent the legal and policy issues associated with more traditional government contingency fee arrangements.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Jan 31, 2009

Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 128 S.Ct. 2605

Source: U.S. Supreme Court | Released: Jun 25, 2008

Testimony by Peter B. Hutt II on H.R. 4854, the 'False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2007,' submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittees on Commercial & Administrative Law and Courts, the Internet, & Intellectual Property

Source: Institute for Legal Reform | Released: Jun 19, 2008

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