ILR Celebrates 10 Years

 

The U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform celebrated 10 years of landmark legal reform successes during a gala anniversary dinner on June 11 at Chamber headquarters.

 

"Ten years ago, trial lawyers didn't have much to fear from the business community," said ILR President Lisa Rickard. "ILR has changed that, challenging the trial bar at the federal level, in the states, in the courts, and in the court of public opinion."

 

For example, since ILR began shining a spotlight on Madison County, Illinois, as a jackpot jurisdiction in 2003, the number of asbestos claims filed in that county dropped from 953 in 2002 to 455 in 2007, and the number of class actions filed dropped from 106 in 2003 to 7 in 2007.

 

Still, lawsuit abuse ranks among the costliest expenses for business; for small businesses alone, the tort system costs $98 billion per year. Recognizing this, a number of ILR initiatives have focused on small and midsize businesses. In 2005, ILR was instrumental in the passage of the federal Class Action Fairness Act, which makes it easier to move class actions from unpredictable state courts to more impartial federal courts.

 

Further, last year, ILR raised more than $70,000 to help the owners of a Washington, D.C., dry cleaner defray their legal costs from a frivolous $54 million lawsuit over an allegedly missing
pair of pants. ILR also launched the Web site IAmLawsuitAbuse.org to tell the stories of small businesses and ordinary citizens who are victims of lawsuit abuse.