President’s Message (Continued from page 6)
injured consumers rights and greatly reduced liability risks for Texas corporations. Of course, Bush’s support of ‘tort reform’ has also reaped some handsome rewards. The Los Angeles Times reported that in his gubernatorial races, Bush received $4.5 million from business interests that waged the fight, supported by the governor, to make it more difficult to sue Texas firms. At least 75% of the members of the Texas Civil Justice League contributed to the Bush campaign for President at the highest level as a “pioneer.” Indeed, the League’s then-President and Chief Lobbyist, Ralph Wayne was also co-chair of George W.’s campaign as well as the Chair- man of the Board of the Washington, D.C. based ATRA. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the tobacco industry’s ‘grassroots’ organizations have been extremely effective in setting their agenda as an All-American agenda. When Citizens Groups are seen as pushing ‘Tort Reform’ with little or no opposition except from trial attorney,s both the public and political per- ception is to rein in individual constitutional and common law rights for the good of the whole. Citizen groups complaining about everyone suing everyone, hoping to get rich, — this is the curse of greedy trial attorneys, and it’s not the American way. Self-reliance, accepting personal responsibility for one’s own actions — now that sounds good! A lot better then say, the testimony of the 7 CEO’s of the world’s major tobacco companies denying any responsibility before Congress for one of the worst health care disasters perpetrated on the general public in this century. The point is where a degree of self-interest can or will be an issue in the debate, a perceived neutral voice is essential.
I’m
not suggesting that ATLA should set up and fund Citizen Groups like the tobacco industry has. These groups are total frauds. I’m only trying to point out a couple of obvious points. First, that every dollar directly spent by trial lawyers has been successfully used against us in the public’s mind. And secondly, we are the worst advocates not only for our own interest; but more importantly, for those we seek to represent outside the controlled environment of the Court House. There are many consumer advocacy groups better qualified to state the case. Their only deficit would seem, and indeed is, the lack of funding or grants, to effectively cover the political landscape. For instance, one group that has successfully caught the public’s imagination and which has the political muscle to continue its work for public safety is Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers or MADD – grassroots all the way, but now heavily funded by the Insurance Industry of America. An unlikely marriage, promoting noble ends, bonding to the reality that while self-interest (or the bottom line) undermines the mes- sage, selfless voluntarism enhances it. So my modest proposal is that ATLA and all trial lawyers return to their courtrooms where their egos are well controlled by adoptive processes and procedures with which they are well acquainted; and let those better suited to public rela- tions and free of an apparent self-interest argue the case outside our natural habitat.
4
Trial Reporter
Spring 2001
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