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Thursday, February 22, 2007

NCLC Celebrates 30 Years of Advocacy on Behalf of the Business Community

WASHINGTON, DC—This year marks the National Chamber Litigation Center's (NCLC) 30th year of successfully representing the interests of the business community before the courts on issues of national concern.

"When NCLC was created, there was no unified voice for business before the courts," said Robin Conrad, NCLC senior vice president. "In the 30 years since, NCLC has been instrumental in shaping judicial rulings on issues ranging from labor and employment to punitive damages and securities litigation."

Since 1977, NCLC has filed more than 1000 cases before the courts, and in 2006, entered 106 new cases, breaking all previous records. NCLC also achieved a new record in 2006 with 48 victories. 

NCLC is the brainchild of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. Prior to his Supreme Court nomination, Powell argued in a 1971 memorandum, now commonly known as the Powell Memorandum, of the need for the business community to marshal its "wisdom, ingenuity and resources" to combat the increasing attacks on the American free enterprise system. Heeding Powell's observation that "American business and the enterprise system have been affected as much by the courts as by the executive and legislative branches of government," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce established NCLC to serve as the voice of business in the courts.

NCLC champions the principles of private enterprise through a four-pronged legal strategy of initiating suits to challenge unfair statutes and regulations; filing friend-of-the-court briefs in cases of major significance to the business community; hosting moot courts in landmark cases; and providing a reasoned voice for business in the media.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

NCLC 

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