WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today presented the 2009 State Leadership Award to the State Chamber of Oklahoma for its years of legal reform advocacy, which was essential for the passage of the Comprehensive Lawsuit Reform Act of 2009 by the state legislature. 
 
“This year, legal reform advocates lead by the State Chamber of Oklahoma achieved the passage of a comprehensive legal reform package designed to help grow jobs and bring doctors back to Oklahoma,” said ILR President Lisa Rickard. “Due to the leadership of the team at the state chamber, Oklahoma enacted one of the single most significant legislative packages of any state and created a blueprint for all states still in need of commonsense tort reform.”
 
The State Chamber of Oklahoma worked with the state legislature in 2009 to pass a legal reform package signed into law by Governor Brad Henry, who called it “perhaps the most comprehensive tort reform measure in state history.” The package included class action reforms, a cap on appeals bonds, adoption of summary judgment procedures similar to that allowed in federal lawsuits, joint and several liability reforms, product liability reforms, junk science testimony rules, certificates of merit requirements, and a cap on non-economic damages.
 
The State Chamber of Oklahoma’s President and CEO Richard P. Rush accepted the award today on behalf of the chamber at ILR’s 10th Annual Legal Reform Summit, which brought together the nation’s leading legal reform experts to discuss the problems in the civil justice system and solutions to fix them.
 
ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels.

The U.S. Chamber is the world’s largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

---