WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today announced a television advertising campaign in West Virginia to urge citizens to contact their elected officials and tell them to pass meaningful legal reform legislation that will curb frivolous lawsuits, stimulate economic development and create jobs.

“The purpose of these ads is to educate West Virginians about the devastating impact of lawsuit abuse on their state,” said Lisa Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. “Citizens need to tell their legislators that they support legal reform and Governor Manchin’s efforts to push the issue to the forefront of the legislative agenda.”

The television ads will run for two weeks in the Charleston area. Viewers are given a toll-free number to contact their elected officials and ask them to support legal reform legislation. The television ads are running in addition to a statewide print advertising campaign.

West Virginia ranked 49th out of 50 in legal fairness for the fourth year in a row in the 2005 ILR/Harris Poll State Liability Systems Ranking Study. That survey of more than 1,400 senior corporate attorneys was released at a press conference in Charleston on March 8 (www.instituteforlegalreform.org/harris/index.php).

View ILR’s West Virginia T.V. ad here.

The mission of ILR is to make America’s legal system simpler, fairer, and faster for everyone. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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