- In Focus
Latest in Legal Reform
TODAY’S NEWS: Yet another judge has felt compelled to reduce excessive plaintiffs’ attorney fees. In a securities fraud case, the plaintiffs’ firm was looking to collect $2.1 million for 20 days of work – or $100,000 per day. The judge in the case reduced the amount owed by twenty percent. Read more on Law.com.
TODAY’S NEWS: A total of 639 asbestos-related lawsuits were filed in Madison County in 2008 – a 44% increase over 2007. Despite this upswing, asbestos cases in Madison County, historically one of the hotbeds of plaintiffs’ bar activity, are still down from their peak of nearly 1,000 in 2003. Read more in the Telegraph.
When the Faces of Lawsuit Abuse Look a Lot Like You
By Lisa Rickard
“The way you run your business—you start to second guess how you do business, because you're worried about the next lawsuit. And that's not the way to run a company.” – Howard Weiss
Reading this quote, you might think Howard is the CEO of a large corporation that has problems with mega class action lawsuits.It is true that Howard owns a company that was sued. But his business—Contemporary Watercrafters of Rockville, Maryland—is a locally-owned swimming pool maintenance and supply company that employs about twenty people.
Howard’s small business was the target of an enormous lawsuit that could have forced him to close his doors. His offense? A wild Canada goose nesting outside his store startled a passerby, causing her to fall.
- Research
New Research Released at Legal Reform Summit
At Wednesday's Legal Reform Summit, ILR released new research on federal preemption, discovery, and corporate criminal liability, and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez released a new study on the U.S. legal environment’s impact on foreign investment.The Preemption Defense in Tort Actions: Law, Strategy, and Practice
The State of Discovery Abuse in Civil Litigation (pdf)
Reforming Corporate Criminal Liability to Promote Responsible Corporate Behavior (pdf)
Department of Commerce: The U.S. Litigation Environment and Foreign Direct Investment (pdf)
- Events
Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Keynoted Legal Reform Summit
October 29, 2008
Washington, DCILR's summit featured panel discussions on a number of important issues. The Hon. Carlos M. Gutierrez, United States Secretary of Commerce, delivered the morning keynote address on the U.S. legal environment’s impact on foreign investment. Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, delivered the luncheon keynote address on the future of legal reform.
- President's Corner
When the Faces of Lawsuit Abuse Look a Lot Like You
By Lisa Rickard“The way you run your business—you start to second guess how you do business, because you're worried about the next lawsuit. And that's not the way to run a company.” – Howard Weiss
Reading this quote, you might think Howard is the CEO of a large corporation that has problems with mega class action lawsuits.It is true that Howard owns a company that was sued. But his business—Contemporary Watercrafters of Rockville, Maryland—is a locally-owned swimming pool maintenance and supply company that employs about twenty people.
Howard’s small business was the target of an enormous lawsuit that could have forced him to close his doors. His offense? A wild Canada goose nesting outside his store startled a passerby, causing her to fall.
