Latest in Legal Reform

TODAY'S NEWS:

Bloomberg recaps this term’s “unpredictable” Supreme Court decisions.

President Obama works to refine his stance on medical malpractice suits. While he has said that lawsuits drive up healthcare costs and force doctors to practice “defensive medicine,” he does not support capping awards. Read more in the Washington Post.

June Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll -- The 'It's Good to Have a Hobby' Edition

By Bryan Quigley

To kill time in jail, some prisoners take up a hobby. In "The Shawshank Redemption," Andy Dufresne carved rocks into chess pieces. Paul Newman’s character in "Cool Hand Luke" plotted and attempted numerous escapes from prison. And in "The Longest Yard," Burt Reynolds put together a team of inmates to take on the guards in a game of football.

One nominee in this month’s Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll has his own way of passing his prison sentence – he files lawsuits. In fact, this Lexington, Kentucky inmate has filed so many lawsuits (against everyone from Britney Spears and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, to everything from the Eiffel Tower and Black History Month), that the Guinness Book of World Records wants to name him the most litigious person in the world. But there’s one catch: he’s filed a lawsuit against Guinness to prevent them from crowning him the king of lawsuits.

Read more

Americans Trust Doctors and Scientists over Juries and Lawyers to Set Safety Standards for Medical Devices, Poll Shows

When it comes to setting standards for the safety of medical devices, the American public trusts academic researchers, and Food and Drug Administration scientists and physicians much more than they do lay juries or trial lawyers, according to a poll conducted by the independent research firm Harris Interactive and released March 30th by ILR.

The results of the poll will be featured in an advertisement unveiled this week. Also released March 30th was a letter to all members of Congress from a broad coalition of groups opposing the Medical Device Safety Act. The letter states that the proposal would “stifle innovation of new medical devices thus limiting the availability of lifesaving technologies,” and, contrary to its title, would “provide no real safety benefits to American consumers.”

The full poll question, the advertisement, the coalition letter and the corresponding press release can be found here.

Achieving the Right Balance: The Role of Corporate Criminal Law in Ensuring Corporate Compliance

April 21, 2009
Washington, DC

On April 21, Georgetown University Law Center and the American Criminal Law Review hosted a Corporate Criminal Law Conference: Achieving the Right Balance: The Role of Corporate Criminal Law in Ensuring Corporate Compliance. The conference focused on the current state of corporate criminal law. Participants also analyzed corporate compliance programs and how a "good" corporate compliance program should be considered by prosecutors.

Luncheon Keynote Speaker: Larry D. Thompson, Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, PepsiCo, Inc.

Speakers included:

• Kathy Ruemmler, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
• Robert B. Fiske Jr., Partner, Davis, Polk & Wardell
• Professor Sara Sun Beale, Charles L.B. Lowndes Professor, Duke University School of Law

In cooperation with the American Criminal Law Review and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Tuesday, April 21
Georgetown University Law Center

Sponsored by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform

Learn more

June Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll -- The 'It's Good to Have a Hobby' Edition

By Bryan Quigley

To kill time in jail, some prisoners take up a hobby. In "The Shawshank Redemption," Andy Dufresne carved rocks into chess pieces. Paul Newman’s character in "Cool Hand Luke" plotted and attempted numerous escapes from prison. And in "The Longest Yard," Burt Reynolds put together a team of inmates to take on the guards in a game of football.

One nominee in this month’s Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll has his own way of passing his prison sentence – he files lawsuits. In fact, this Lexington, Kentucky inmate has filed so many lawsuits (against everyone from Britney Spears and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, to everything from the Eiffel Tower and Black History Month), that the Guinness Book of World Records wants to name him the most litigious person in the world. But there’s one catch: he’s filed a lawsuit against Guinness to prevent them from crowning him the king of lawsuits.

Read more

ILR Statement Regarding President Obama's Call to Reduce Excessive Medical Liability

By Lisa Rickard

We find it encouraging that President Obama is acknowledging the lawsuit epidemic and its impact on America’s health care system, particularly as the Administration examines the critical issue of controlling healthcare costs.

Numerous studies have proven that our out-of-control lawsuit system is forcing physicians to practice defensive medicine to avoid costly liability lawsuits. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, as much as 40 percent of medical liability lawsuits are entirely groundless.

The medical liability issue is one of a number of critically important issues facing the country in this historic healthcare debate. We look forward to working with all parties to find remedies – damage caps, health courts or other effective reforms – that can protect doctors, patients and taxpayers from the ailments caused by excessive medical liability litigation.

However, it is important to note that medical liability reform alone is not enough to balance out the threats posed by an employer pay-or-play mandate, a new government-run insurance plan, or an unelected bureaucracy that takes decisions away from employers, employees, insurers, doctors, and patients.