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With Justice For All
Andrew Napolitano,
of the FOX News Channel, moderates a
lively debate between Dick Scruggs and
Steve Hantler,
AJP Chairman, about the pros and cons of
legal reform and the activities of the plaintiffs' bar. |
Essential Information Series
AJP speaks with key business
leaders and state officials about the urgency of lawsuit
reform at the state level and what is at stake for
consumers, business and the future quality of life in
America. |
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Audio Interview: Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, Texas
In this candid interview,
Chief Justice Jefferson of the Texas Supreme Court, talks
with Kristyn Shayon about the role of the
judiciary and the Supreme Court. He discusses how
Justices approach the research and analysis of cases
that come before the Court and what thought process goes
into the final opinion. |
Audio Interview: Chief Justice Cliff Taylor, Michigan
The Wall Street Journal has called the
Michigan Supreme Court the “finest court in the land.” In this
interview, Kristyn Shayon discusses with Michigan’s Chief Justice
Cliff Taylor some of the factors which must have been considered by the
Wall Street Journal before making this assessment. |
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States Ranked in Major
Update of Tort Liability Climate Study from Pacific Research Institute |
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 March
11, 2008 -- California-based
Pacific Research
Institute (PRI) released the newly
updated
U.S. Tort
Liability Index: 2008 Report. The new study, which follows on PRI’s
groundbreaking
2006 Index,
provides new analysis on all 50 states based on
multiple variables of empirical data measuring both
inputs (what states have done to reform their legal
systems) and outputs (the cost/risk factors
currently facing states based on their legal
systems).
“The 2008 study confirms the
predictions made by the 2006 study – when states
take action to reform their tort lawsuit systems,
they better position themselves for economic growth
by lowering tort costs,” said
Dan Pero,
AJP president. “CEOs and corporate planners now have
a better tool to assist them with tough decisions
about where to add jobs and expand operations,
particularly during this time of economic
uncertainty.”
Read More About the Report and Download
Audio Interview with Dr. Lawrence McQuillan |
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Institute for Legal Reform Releases
2008 State Liability Ranking
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 April
23, 2008
-- The U.S. Chamber Institute
for Legal Reform has released the results of its annual
opinion survey conducted by Harris Interactive among 957
corporate general counsel and senior litigators in companies
with sales of $100 million or more.
The survey
results provide a
snapshot of current perceptions of corporate attorneys who
supervise law firms managing cases on their behalf in state
courts. Their perceptions are compiled in such a way as to
rank the 50 states from best to worst legal climates, taking into account factors such as perceptions of the fairness of liability laws
on the books and the performance of state judges in overseeing
cases, among others.
Download
2008 ILR-Harris Report
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New Jersey, Nevada Counties Named
in 2007 "Judicial Hellholes" Report by American Tort Reform
Foundation
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 Dec
18, 2007 - At a press conference in Washington, DC, the
American Tort Reform Foundation
has named
for the first time Clark County, Nevada and Atlantic
County, New Jersey as "Judicial Hellholes". The list
also includes perennial Hellholes:
South Florida; Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast,
Texas; Cook County, Illinois; and, the entire state
of West Virginia as
the nation’s most unfair civil court jurisdictions.
“Besides naming two new Judicial
Hellholes this year, the biggest headline may be the
fact that Madison County, Illinois is no longer a
Hellhole,” noted ATRF president
Sherman “Tiger”
Joyce. “In each of the last five years Madison
County was cited as a leading Hellhole. But led by
Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack, the
courts there have undertaken several positive
reforms which justify moving the county this year to
the ‘Watch List.’ |
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Read More About the Report and Download
Audio Interview with ATRF President Tiger Joyce |
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AJP Report Documents the Financial Stake for
Business in Reforming State Medical Liability Laws |
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 "In
its new report,
Medical Crisis: A Pocketbook Matter for Employers,
the American Justice Partnership reveals the shocking statistics behind
the health care crisis in our nation," said
John Engler (below),
President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and former
Governor of Michigan.
 "CEOs, small business owners, and top
executives will learn that patient access to health care directly
affects the cost of employer-paid health insurance. When a hostile legal
environment chokes the health care profession in a state, insurers raise
premiums or simply stop providing coverage," continued Engler.
"Here
is the fact: States that have expansive medical liability laws on
their books have driven doctors and healthcare facilities out of
business through sky-high malpractice insurance rates and predatory
tactics of the plaintiff’s bar,” said
Dan Pero, President of AJP. “Without basic legal reforms that protect patients and provide
relief for the health care community, patients suffer and businesses are
left holding the tab.”
Read More and Download Full Report
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Directorship "Annual
Guide to State Legal Climates" |
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June 27, 2007 --
Directorship
magazine
and
www.directorship.com,
both of which are widely read by a majority of
Fortune 500 boards, invited AJP to prepare a 12-page
Guide profiling
the political, legislative and judicial dynamics that create the
current and future liability risks in each state. Directorship
published the Guide this week.
 "Board
directors need to understand which states have created predatory
liability laws that will ensnare their companies in costly and
protracted litigation," says Jeff Cunningham, Publisher of
Directorship magazine. "Directors, on behalf of
shareholders, need to make good decisions about in which states to
expand operations and increase employment. We asked Steve Hantler to
partner with us on the Guide because through AJP he has the best
network of in-state Partners who are the experts on their respective
state legal climates."
High-level Legal Risk Analysis for
Decision-Makers
 "Our goal for the Guide is to provide board directors
and other company decision-makers with a high-level understanding of
risks arising because of the legal climate in each state," says
lead author
Steve Hantler,
right, Chairman of
the American Justice Partnership. "While directors will
need more detailed information before making major decisions about
where to site facilities, this Guide provides an expert summary of
the environment in all the states."
Read More
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PRI Report Pegs Cost
of U.S. Tort System At 27 Times Federal Spending on
Homeland Security |
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$124 Billion in
Additional Health Care Spending Alone |
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 March
27, 2007
—
America’s out-of-control legal
system imposes a staggering economic cost of over $865 billion
every year according to a new scholarly study released today by
the
Pacific Research Institute
(PRI), a free-market think tank based in San Francisco,
California. This figure is 27 times more than the federal
government spends on homeland security, 30 times what the
National Institutes for Health dedicate to finding cures for
deadly diseases, and 13 times the amount the Department of
Education spends to help educate America’s children.
The authors of Jackpot Justice: The True
Cost of America’s Tort System calculated that the
nation’s tort system imposes a yearly “tort tax” of $9,827 for a
family of four and raises health care spending in the U.S. by
$124 billion.
The new PRI study provides the most comprehensive
examination ever of U.S. tort costs. According to the study’s
lead author, Dr. Lawrence J. McQuillan, unlike previous studies,
Jackpot Justice calculates both the direct and
indirect costs of America’s legal system.
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Audio Interviews |
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Dr. Lawrence McQuillan
Pacific Research Institute
In this AJP
exclusive interview, Dr. McQuillan joins AJP's Kristyn Shayon to talk
about the newly released
US Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report,
and the updated methodologies used to assemble
the two rankings produced by the study.
Listen to Interview
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Spotlight on the Texas Supreme Court
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson
Texas Supreme Court
In this candid interview, Chief Justice
Jefferson of the Texas Supreme Court, one of the most highly regarded
jurists in the nation, talks with AJP's Kristyn Shayon about the role of
the judiciary and the Supreme Court. He discusses how Justices approach
the research and analysis of cases that come before the Court and what
thought process goes into the final opinion.
Listen to Interview
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Spotlight on Michigan's Supreme
Court
Chief Justice Cliff Taylor
Michigan Supreme Court
The Wall Street Journal has called the
Michigan Supreme Court the “finest court in the land.” In this
interview, AJP's Kristyn Shayon discusses with Michigan’s Chief Justice
Cliff Taylor some of the factors which must have been considered by the
WSJ before making such a statement.
Listen to Interview
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Attorney General Bob McDonnell
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell
joins Kristyn Shayon to talk
about "the terrific tort climate" in Virginia. His common sense approach
to the application of justice has helped give Virginia a top ten ranking
in several major surveys and reports of all fifty states.
Listen to Interview
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Senator Glenn Coffee
Oklahoma State
Senate
Senator Coffee, Republican
Majority Leader of the Oklahoma Senate and a nine-year leader of legal reform legislation, talks with AJP's Kristyn
Shayon about this year's comprehensive legal reform bill and the stunning
last-minute flip-flop by Governor Brad Henry.
Listen to Interview
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Senator Charlie Ross
Mississippi State
Senate
In this interview, Senator Ross gives us the behind the
scenes look at just how close Mississippi came to a complete
breakdown of the civil justice system, and the ensuing campaign
for comprehensive legal reform that involved significant efforts
from the business, medical and legislative communities alike.
Listen to Interview
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Renee Giachino on State Supreme
Courts
Listen to
Renee's Commentaries on
NAM's new radio program,
"America's Business"
Listen to Commentary
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Op-Ed
Articles |
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March 20, 2008
No Class
John Sullivan,
Civil Justice Association of
California |
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February 28, 2008
'Reform' groups want voters
out of the loop
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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February 19, 2008
Justice's Rulings Not For
Sale
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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February 8, 2008
Keep Judicial Elections Democratic
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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February 8, 2008
Michigan Needs a Drug Shield Law
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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November 19, 2007
Patient Loss of Health Care
Services Remains Critical in Pennsylvania
Ken Kilpatrick,
The Patients And Physicians Alliance |
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November 19, 2007
Justice O'Connor Confuses "the symptom with the disease"
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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November 15, 2007
Benchmarks of Judicial
Elections?
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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August 29, 2007
Repealing state's legal
reforms helps trial lawyers, not residents
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August 22, 2007
Trial lawyers want to profit at
expense of Mich. public |
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July 17, 2007
Alabama Teeters: Will it be
up or down for the state? |
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June 15, 2007
Small Businesses
Increasingly Endangered by Lawsuits |
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June 6, 2007
Shuttering
of obstetric units is symptom of a deeper crisis |
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May
4, 2007
Ohio Plays Politics in Paint
Makers Suit |
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Current Articles and Reports |
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Essential Reference |
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