Committees make strides in civil justice battle.

As almost every TRIAL reader surely knows, plaintiffs' rights and plaintiffs' lawyers have been under increasing attack in recent years by many different groups in many different venues. But until recently, you may not have realized that these groups have been working together to influence the courts and the legislative process. Thanks to dedicated people serving on important ATLA committees, this coordinated assault on the heart and soul of the American people and the justice system is being exposed and challenged.

No ATLA committee has been more vigilant or more successful in confronting our opponents than the Legal Affairs Committee, created in 1992 and co-chaired since then by Linda Miller Atkinson and Ted Spearman. Committee members have been instrumental in generating discussion and debate on issues involving state and federal courts. They have developed information to combat the myths about the civil justice system propagated by those who would restrict the rights of individuals.

The committee's projects are varied. Members have distributed to judges copies of important law review articles, such as the American University Law Review's symposium on "tort reform." (This included Ken Chesebro's revealing article on Peter Huber of the Manhattan Institute.) The committee has helped develop several ATLA policies, including the association's opposition to federal preemption of state tort law and a proposed policy on the adjudication of mass tort personal injury claims.

The Legal Affairs Committee has six constituent committees, each of which has done an outstanding job:

* The Academic Liaison Committee, co-chaired by Ron Simon and Tony Roisman, encourages academic independence. It has been invited to assist professors writing articles on "tort reform"-related issues for symposia in the Suffolk Law Review, Tennessee Law Review, and Touro Law Review. The committee is planning a book and a symposium on the tort system.

* The ALI (American Law Institute) Relations and Study Committee, co-chaired by Jim Lowe and Jerry Palmer, has worked to keep up with developments concerning the proposed Restatement of the Law--Torts: Products Liability. An important issue has been the possibility that the ALI's process might become politicized and produce an anticonsumer Restatement. Among ATLA's concerns are proposals that would eliminate any negligence cause of action for injuries caused by products and require that plaintiffs in defective-design cases prove a "reasonable alternative design."

* The Amicus Curiae Committee, co-chaired by Amy Langerman and Bill Trine, has produced many useful briefs in support of the civil justice system. Recently committee members have written briefs on noneconomic damages caps, sovereign immunity, court secrecy, FELA preemption, workers' compensation, and tortious interference with the attorneyclient relationship. The committee has also prepared briefs for a number of important constitutional cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

* The Committee on Courts, co-chaired by Jim Gilbert and Russ Smith, has been deeply involved in developments in the federal courts regarding issues of procedure, evidence, and jurisdiction. It helps develop ATLA's positions regarding proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. The committee's work on recent attempts to amend the rules to tilt the playing field in favor of corporate interests has been truly remarkable.

* The Constitutional Litigation Committee, co-chaired by John Powers and Marti Wivell, has provided valuable briefwriting and editing assistance and strategic planning to trial and appellate counsel in landmark Supreme Court cases. Recent cases on which committee members worked involved federal preemption of state tort law, the constitutionality of punitive damages, class action settlements, the court underfunding and congestion crisis, and the admissibility of expert opinion testimony.

* The Scientific and Medical Integrity Committee, co-chaired by Nicole Schultheis and Ron Simon, gathers and disseminates information on the relationship between law, science, and medicine. It focuses particularly on the distortion by industry and others of medical and scientific research, the corruption of medical and scientific standards, and the constant efforts by industry and the organized defense bar to challenge the intellectual integrity, research methodologies, and conclusions of scientists and physicians who testify for or work with injured consumers and workers.

These committees are making a difference. They have begun to turn back the tide of limitations on individual rights. They are helping win important cases. It would not be overstating the matter to suggest that their work affects every ATLA member and every injured consumer and will continue to do so.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the committee members, who generously sacrifice their time and money (they don't bill clients for this work). We should also be grateful to members of the ATLA staff--particularly Dan Cohen, Ned Miltenberg, Jim Rooks, and Jeff White--who understand the serious threat posed by attacks on the civil justice system and who have supported us in this fight.

To all of you, thanks!