Issues/Research

America's legal crisis is putting employees out of work, raising consumer prices, driving down shareholder value and bankrupting companies. Many plaintiffs' lawyers are exploiting flaws in our legal system in search of jackpot justice. Meanwhile, frivolous lawsuits clog our courts, denying those most deserving of justice their right to a speedy trial. Examine our Issue Resources exploring the various issues affecting our legal system below or research particular issues using the menu to the left.

Research

Objection! Focusing on Fraud and Abuse in Litigation

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This 2010 Legal Reform Summit panel discussed instances of fraud and abuse highlighting recent cases such as Illinois Central Railroad and Dole v. Tellez.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 27, 2010

Restoring Balance: Proposed Amendments to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

This paper presents a series of amendments that would serve to improve the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). That statute was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Carter in late 1977. The FCPA addressed foreign bribery by punishing its occurrence (the anti-bribery provisions) and providing for its detection and prevention (the books-and-records and internal controls provisions). LEARN MORE »

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 27, 2010

The Annual Legal Reform Summit

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The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform's annual Legal Reform Summit takes place in October of each year. This day-long gathering of leaders in the legal reform community features distinguished panelists exploring a variety of timely topics.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 27, 2010

The Spillover Effect - Liability and Future Ramifications Beyond the Gulf Oil Spill

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This 2010 Legal Reform Summit panel examined legislation and liability issues stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 27, 2010

The Canadian Class Action Landscape: Getting Greener? - new updated version

In their formative years, Canadian class actions produced little news to defendants’ liking, as case after case was certified for class treatment. Over the past three years, the environment has manifested change – but not all in the same direction. Some tribunals have become more circumspect about the wisdom and efficacy of aggregate litigation in the product-liability and toxic-tort contexts. At the same time, however, other elements of the Canadian judiciary have issued groundbreaking precedents that open the door to more class litigation. Despite pockets of positive developments, the overarching trend is an increased volume of class actions being filed in Canadian courts and a broadening of the subject matter of those actions.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Oct 15, 2010

Bipartisan Poll Shows Small Businesses Concerned About Economy, Lawsuits, Effectiveness of Government Actions

Key Data From a National Survey of Small Businesses

From August 19-31, 2010, Public Opinion Strategies and Douglas Schoen LLC completed 1,000 interviews with individuals who identified themselves as the owner, president, partner, CEO, financial officer or VP/Senior manager at a private company with fewer than 500 employees as per SBA designations for certain small businesses. Ninety-six percent (96%) had fewer than 100 employees, and a majority (58%) had 2-5 employees. Respondents’ companies represented a wide range of industries and were located throughout the country. Interviews were conducted both on-line (N=400) and via telephone (N=600) to ensure a wide range of types of businesses and individuals.

Source: Institute for Legal Reform
Released: Sep 23, 2010