|
Obama Makes Inroads Into Edwards' Trial Lawyer Base
This time around, John Edwards can't take anything for granted. This time, even his blood brothers aren't necessarily on board. For years Edwards has relied on the support of his fellow trial lawyers' deep pockets to help get him elected -- first to the Senate and then three years ago, when he made a run at the White House and then became running mate to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who won the Democratic nomination. But as Edwards mounts his second presidential bid, he has struggled to attract plaintiffs lawyers beyond his stable of longtime donors, just as other Democratic candidates, such as Sens. Hillary Clinton from New York, Barack Obama from Illinois, and Joseph Biden Jr. from Delaware, have been actively wooing the plaintiffs bar. "Frankly, I have got some torn loyalties," says Dennis VanDerGinst, an Illinois trial attorney who is raising money for all three of the Democratic front-runners.
US Chamber: Illinois’ Abusive Legal Climate Gets Even Worse
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today announced that Illinois' legal climate has worsened, dropping one spot to number 46 in Lawsuit Climate 2007: Rating the States, an annual assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris Interactive, a nonpartisan national polling firm. "Recent positive rulings by the Illinois Supreme Court and improvements in Madison County courts have been cancelled out by a full-scale trial lawyer assault in the state legislature," said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber. "Illinois' reputation for lawsuit abuse is compounding an already unfriendly business climate, and hurting the state's ability to compete in the national – and global – marketplace. That kind of reputation can only hurt the state's employers, consumers and working families." The Harris Interactive survey of 1,599 senior attorneys, now in its sixth year, is the preeminent standard by which companies, policymakers and the media measure the legal environment of states.
Illinois drops a spot to 46 in Harris survey
The bad news for tort reform advocates is that Illinois dropped one spot in a national survey of state legal climates.
According to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), Illinois fell to number 46 in "Lawsuit Climate 2007: Rating the States," an annual assessment of state liability systems.
Harris Interactive, a nonpartisan national polling firm, conducted the survey.
Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber, said in a press release that improvements in Madison County courts and recent "positive rulings" by the Illinois Supreme Court have been "cancelled out by a full-scale trial lawyer assault in the state legislature."
"Illinois' reputation for lawsuit abuse is compounding an already unfriendly business climate, and hurting the state's ability to compete in the national - and global - marketplace," Donohue said.
|
|
