Tort Law
10-Partner Firm Fights Tort Reform Laws
Posted Dec 17, 2007, 08:42 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The law firm fighting tort reform laws doesn’t mention the word “tort” or “trial lawyers” in its name.
The Center for Constitutional Litigation has 10 partners who seek to overturn state and federal laws that cap damages or otherwise limit recovery for injured plaintiffs. The center currently has about 40 pending cases, the National Law Journal reports.
Lawyer Robert Peck formed the law firm with four other lawyers in 2001. Now it handles cases for about 15 state trial lawyer associations as well as the national group, the American Association for Justice.
Victor Schwartz, general counsel of the American Tort Reform Association, says the center has had some significant wins. But overall, advocates of tort reform have prevailed, winning 277 out of 400 cases since 1983, he told the NLJ.