Jobs Agenda: Legal Reform and Litigation

Priorities

The U.S. Chamber works to end lawsuit abuse and to ensure that businesses receive the fair, efficient, and consistent justice system they deserve.

The Facts

• America’s civil justice system is the world’s most expensive, with a direct cost in 2008 of $254.7 billion, or 1.79 % of the U.S. GDP.
• The cost of the U.S. tort liability system as a percentage of GDP is more than double the average cost of any other industrialized nation.
• While small businesses are responsible for 64% of all new American jobs, lawsuits cost them $105.4 billion in 2008—money that could be invested in more jobs, higher wages, or better benefits
• Two out of three senior executives and litigators at America’s largest employers believe that the litigation environment in a state is likely to impact important business decisions at their companies, including whether to grow jobs or do business in a state.

The U.S. Chamber Agenda to End Lawsuit Abuse and Expand Legal Advocacy

• Advocate for Commonsense Legal Reforms on Capitol Hill—The Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) fights for a proactive agenda and works to defend against increasing legislative assaults from the plaintiffs’ bar.
• Target Lawsuit Abuse in States and Jurisdictions in Need of Reform—ILR works to rein in overreaching state AGs who initiate crusades against one industry after another, often working in tandem with personal injury lawyers “deputized” to file lawsuits on behalf of state government. ILR also advances asbestos bankruptcy trust transparency initiatives, changes court rules, protects past legal reforms, and conducts voter education campaigns in key states.
• Curtail the Spread of an American-Style Class Action Lawsuit System Abroad—ILR educates policymakers and thought leaders about the consequences of importing U.S.-style litigation features. ILR highlights abuses in international litigation filed against its members in the United States and around the world.
• Fight for Business in the Courts—The National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), the Chamber’s public policy law firm, defends business in the courts on legal issues of national significance, including punitive damages, class actions, securities litigation, labor and employment, environmental law, and patchwork immigration regulations.
• Fight Anti-Business Regulations and Statutes—NCLC directly sues overzealous state, federal, and private regulators.