We Cannot Sue Our Way Out of an Economic Crisis

By Lisa Rickard
October 29, 2008

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue delivered a rousing address to the attendees of ILR’s 9th Annual Legal Reform Summit, saying that, during this time of global economic turmoil, the last thing America needs is more lawsuits. 

Less than a week before Election Day, Donohue spoke directly to the next president and Congress. “When Americans say that they want their leaders to deliver ‘change’ in Washington, allowing lawyers to sue more isn’t the change they had in mind,” Donohue observed. 

Noting that the plaintiffs’ bar will try to convince our next leaders to “open the litigation floodgates,” Donohue warned, “We cannot sue our way to prosperity. We cannot sue our way to job growth. We cannot sue our way out of an economic crisis. And we cannot sue our way to better regulation.”