Corporate greed.

As trial lawyers, we recognize the relationship among corporate accounting scandals, dangerously defective products, and the manufactured "crisis" in medical malpractice insurance. They all stem from the same source--corporate greed that respects few boundaries in the quest for profits.

Too few Americans are aware that civil litigation is a powerful tool for holding corporate interests accountable. It is our job as trial lawyers to expose corporate wrongdoing and indifference. We do it daily in the courtroom as we seek justice for our clients. Now, we need to work harder to get that message to the general public, including the media, who often do not understand the legal system or our role in it.

America's ongoing accounting scandals, the recent tort "reform" movement, and the medical malpractice "crisis" all provide opportunities to inform the public that access to the courts is a check on corporate corruption and wrongdoing. Though corporate interests spend a lot of money to portray trial lawyers as greedy attorneys who bring frivolous lawsuits, the reality is that we work to protect the people--consumers, workers, and patients--from corporate America's hunt for more profits, whatever the cost.

How many Americans are aware that lawsuits predicted at least three of the recent corporate financial scandals? Before they made headlines, WorldCom, Tyco, and Rite Aid were sued by shareholders alleging financial improprieties, which should have raised red flags for auditors.

The lawyers who brought these suits were not only helping their clients, they were performing a public service, protecting the public interest against corporate greed and corruption. Yet, during the debate on accounting reform legislation, some congressional leaders attacked trial lawyers as predators eager to sue even law-abiding businesses. It is our job to help the public see the truth.

The industries behind tort "reform" work hard to keep the public in the dark about the role of the trial lawyer and the importance of access to the courts. Tort "reform" proponents focus on controlling "frivolous" lawsuits and blame attorneys as money-seekers. However, caps on damages and other tort "reforms" really mean less accountability and more profits for corporate America. Once people understand that reality, they won't tolerate this erosion of their rights, especially in the current climate of corporate greed and corruption.

Recently, the insurance industry and its partisans have branded the trial bar as the root of all evils in America's health care system. We are falsely blamed for skyrocketing medical malpractice premiums, obstetrician shortages, closed trauma centers, out-of-control costs, and even the medical industry's failure to reduce preventable errors. It is a myth devised by the insurance industry in the quest for draconian federal restrictions on medical malpractice lawsuits.

Lawyers are blamed in order to mask the greed and misdeeds of the insurance industry. In truth, the insurance companies manufactured the current "crisis" in health care and malpractice insurance to keep profits high in the wake of their own bad business decisions and questionable accounting practices. They are already gouging doctors. Now they want a government-sponsored bailout in the form of nationwide damages caps--so errors that maim or kill will not cost insurers a lot of money.

The insurance industry lies and claims that placing caps on damages will "solve" the malpractice insurance "crisis" by bringing down premium rates. This deception was exposed recently in Nevada, where insurers announced they had no intention of lowering premiums after the legislature passed a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages. In other states where malpractice caps are already in place, some insurance companies are pulling out of malpractice coverage altogether, leaving behind them the remaining companies' increased premiums.

The insurance industry makes false promises in order to secure damages caps that will increase its profits but erode the rights of the people. We must continue our efforts to help Americans understand that damages caps and tort restrictions are designed to benefit corporate America's bottom line at the expense of patients, families, consumers, children, seniors, and taxpayers.

Our public education efforts also need to focus on empowering people to protect their own rights in the voting booth. Starting with our colleagues, friends, families, clients, and local communities, we can educate and encourage them to register and vote for pro-consumer candidates who are not beholden to greedy corporate interests and who do support the civil justice system.

To help you educate the public about the civil justice system and the unique and vital role of trial lawyers, ATLA's Web site, www.atla.org, has new resources. Click on "ATLA Member Community Outreach" to find a sample speech, letters to the editor, fact sheets, tips for dealing with radio and TV stations, and ideas for community activities to reach consumers, seniors, and families.

Trial lawyers strive to protect the people from corporate wrongdoing. Let's get that message out.