President’s
Message by Wayne M. Willoughby
As I pick up my pen to write the
President’s Note for this edition of Trial Reporter, my firm is in the midst of relo- cating. While rifling through relics from past legislative battles, deciding what goes with me and what goes to the dump, I came across a document apropos to a magazine issue discussing the statutory cap on damages. It is common knowledge that for over
30 years wealthy business interests have invested billions of dollars to undermine the civil justice system and deprive citi- zens of the right to pursue a meaningful recourse against corporate wrongdoers in the courts. Through single-issue
front groups, such as the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), the most powerful corporations have worked tirelessly to create a distorted view of the legal system in the public’s mind. What may not be as commonly
recognized is the significant assistance these single-issue corporate shill groups receive from multi-issue “ideological far-right wing foundations,” such as the Washington Legal Foundation, the Cato Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council, that are focused on an anti-government ideology of pro-
July 2008 - January 2009 New and Returning MAJ Members
Welcome
Timothy J. Capurso Alexander Cordier Joseph M. Creed Stephen J. Cullen Gregory Emrick Nathan I. Finkelstein Brendan H. Fitzpatrick Mary Ellen Flynn Katherine D. Fones Kimberly Glencer Wayne Gracey Marc Hassan Marc Hirscheld Margaret H. Hugh Bernard Ilkhanoff
Timothy J. Capurso Alexander Cordier Joseph M. Creed Stephen J. Cullen Gregory Emrick Nathan I. Finkelstein Brendan H. Fitzpatrick Mary Ellen Flynn Katherine D. Fones Kimberly Glencer Wayne Gracey Marc Hassan Marc Hirscheld Margaret H. Hugh Bernard Ilkhanoff
Winter 2009
July 2008 - January 2009 New and Returning MAJ Members
Demosthenes Komis Michael J. Lay Katherine A. Linzer Joyce Lombardi F. Scott Lucas Jonathan E. Martin Michael Milne Dianna M. Morris Simyeon Murray Richard Oare Leslie A. Pladna Kelly A. Power Samuel Rensin Richard A. Sargent John Saunders
Demosthenes Komis Michael J. Lay Katherine A. Linzer Joyce Lombardi F. Scott Lucas Jonathan E. Martin Michael Milne Dianna M. Morris Simyeon Murray Richard Oare Leslie A. Pladna Kelly A. Power Samuel Rensin Richard A. Sargent John Saunders
Trial Reporter
Richard Seitz Carmel J. Snow Bernard Solnik Robert M. Somer George Strott Dory Sutker Rachel Tansey
Richard Seitz Carmel J. Snow Bernard Solnik Robert M. Somer George Strott Dory Sutker Rachel Tansey
Jennifer M. Walsh Hare Lee. B. Warren Samonna L. Watts Lynette Whitfield Robert N.Wood,III Diana K. Wyles
Jennifer M. Walsh Hare Lee. B. Warren Samonna L. Watts Lynette Whitfield Robert N.Wood,III Diana K. Wyles
moting deregulation, social Darwinism, and the free market as the solution of all social ills. According to a report by the non-
partisan Commonweal Institute issued in October 2003, these multi-issue right- wing ideological organizations bring to the tort reform battle extraordinary funding, media savvy and message dis- cipline. Yet, their motives are not so pure inasmuch as they are not particularly interested in lowering insurance costs for doctors or damage awards paid by businesses. Instead, their interest in
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