More Trouble At The Trial Lawyers Lobby?
September 29, 2009
Back in 2006, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America tried to shed its ambulance-chasing image by switching its name to the American Association for Justice. Nobody here but us guardians of right and virtue, you know - not like those buck-raking scavengers who preyed on the legal system for their own profit. It was a move that would have made George Orwell proud.
But apparently the new persona hasn’t been a big hit among the faithful. The Washington Times reports that the group is “awash in debt ($6.2 million) and bleeding members.” Declining dues led to a more than $9 million revenue loss between 2005 and 2008. With so many of the trial bar’s leading lights in jail (Dickie Scruggs, Bill Lerach, Melvyn Weiss), it’s a wonder anyone counts themselves a proud member of such a discredited group.
The Justice League’s gleaming new 11-story headquarters in D.C.’s toniest downtown neighborhood has also been a major cash burner. The group sued its lender (surprise!) for $120 million after it backed out of a loan deal, but the case was basically laughed out of court, leaving the trial lawyer lobby scrambling to find some renters for its surplus space. If they can’t find enough tenants, I guess they’ll just have to go back to suing small business and shaking down insurance companies for some extra $$.
Even amidst its financial troubles, the trial bar still managed to scrape up enough cash to launch an ad/direct mail blitz scolding lawmakers not to even consider medical liability reform, despite well-documented evidence it will lower health care costs. Given Howard Dean’s admission that congressional Democrats won’t go near liability reform out of fear of angering the trial bar, Victor Schwartz speculates the Justice League is just using the issue as a cynical way to raise money. Some things never change.