No Amount of Trial Lawyer PR Will Help With This One

Since my book came out, people who oppose tort reform or interviewers occasionally ask me why I think that the movement to restrict people's right to sue has been so successful. One reason I always give them is that trial lawyers, despite all their recent name changes and focus groups, still continue to provide the "reformers" with a lot of solid material. Check out the latest in the Wall Street Journal today ($) here or the WSJ law blog item here...

Comments

[dp]

Here's what's amazing about this to me, as a lawyer.

I guarantee that this author would have absolutely no problem with a defense lawyer making a presentation explaining that, because this particular Texas county is so plaintiff-favorable, a defendant should do whatever it can to effectuate a removal from that Texas state court to a federal court, with a Republican-appointed federal judge and a more conservative jury pool.

That is done every day, but it is EXACTLY THE SAME APPROACH -- it's manipulating the forum WITHIN THE RULES to obtain the most favorable factfinder for the lawyer's client. When a plaintiff's trial lawyer does it, it's terrible. When a defense lawyer does it, then it's not only fine, it's absolutely noble because it's about preserving the client's rights.