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Many organizations vie for the
sympathy of the press. Robert Raitt, Michigan Trial Lawyers
Association president, takes a different approach. He issues
marching orders for The Oakland Press and other news
organizations. "It is long
past time," Raitt wrote in a recent guest opinion piece, for
"journalists who are entrusted with reporting the facts in
Michigan" to "put a halt" to "disingenuous propaganda" in the
form of studies from "special interests."
Take note, editors and readers,
you have been directed not to think for yourselves when it comes
to what qualifies as disingenuous or as a special interest.
In a thinly disguised tirade
masquerading as an opinion piece, Raitt singled out two
pro-legal reform reports from the American Justice Partnership
and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce as examples of these
"self-serving, contradictory studies."
Put aside for a moment that
nothing meets the definition of self-serving as much as a trial
lawyer advocating for the repeal of legal reform.
Raitt makes his case out of the
fact that in the AJP study, Michigan is ranked as having the
seventh best liability climate in America, while the chamber
study calls Michigan a "caution" state in which legal reform is
in jeopardy. But there is no contradiction here.
What Raitt doesn't tell you is
that the AJP rankings emphasize how laws are currently
implemented by Michigan's nationally respected courts and
jurists.
The chamber study focuses on the
growing movement in the state House of Representatives to repeal
Lansing's landmark legal reforms.
Given that the trial bar has
annual revenues 50 percent greater than those of Microsoft or
Intel – making it the most moneyed and powerful special interest
in America – the prospects of this repeal campaign are serious.
It would be a tragedy if this
campaign succeeded. While many national legal trends are
negative, Michigan's pioneering legal reforms have had a
positive impact. The state's product liability reforms, which
alone have reduced those filings by 67 percent, have helped
attract investments such as the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor.
But a return to the golden years of trial lawyers would reverse
these gains and make the current downturn in Michigan permanent.
Raitt also warns against
"special-interest-funded tall tale[s]" about lawsuit abuse. Here
are some solid examples of lawsuit abuse from other states:
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In Miami, Louis Robles, hailed
as "King of Torts" for his successful mass tort litigation
practice, was disbarred and recently indicted on federal
charges alleging he defrauded thousands of sick asbestos
clients out of $13.5 million. While many of his ailing
clients languished in poverty, Robles reportedly enjoyed a
$15 million waterfront mansion, a $1.2 million condominium
in Colorado and a staff of servants. Will opening the way
for the likes of Robles bring jobs to Michigan? Perhaps, if
your idea of a good job is to be a butler to a rich trial
lawyer.
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In California, the storied law
firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman faces a federal
indictment for allegedly providing over $11 million in
kickbacks to prospective plaintiffs in return for their
participation in class action lawsuits.
Or do we need lawyers like Tom
Troiano, who filed a non-adversarial claim on behalf of a 9/11
widow in New York—and then hit her up with a $2 million-plus
bill?
Don't take my word for it. Search
the Internet for these stories, and you will see for yourself
why Michigan needs to remain a leader in legal reform. |
