Arkansas is ranked #36 in the 2017 Lawsuit Climate Survey: Ranking the States, rising five places from 2015. The state moved up 15 spots in the key element categories of having and enforcing meaningful venue requirements, and treatment of class action suits and mass consolidation suits.
Missouri 'Marches Toward Daubert': On August 28, a newly-enacted Missouri law will go into effect which will allow the state to "join the federal courts and 39 other states in applying the Daubert standard for the admissibility of expert testimony." Read More »
An article about an Arkansas legal reform ballot initiative cites the state's 41st ranking in ILR's 2015 Lawsuit Climate Survey. If approved by voters, the initiative "would amend the state constitution to require the Legislature to set a cap on non-economic damages, such as damages for pain and suffering, at no less than $250,000 in a civil suit against a health-care provider." Read More »
Yesterday, ILR and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner sent a strong message through the news media about the need to improve the civil liability climate in Illinois and throughout the country. Our press conference to launch the 2015 Lawsuit Climate Survey: Ranking the States was a great success and well attended by both national and local media. Read More »
75 Percent of Business Leaders Surveyed Say Lawsuit Climate a 'Significant Factor' in Determining Where to Expand, Grow Read More »
New Poll Shows Several Large States Like California and Illinois Rank Among the Worst Litigation Environments for Businesses; Delaware at Top Spot Read More »
Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), issued the following statement today applauding Governor Asa Hutchinson for signing into law a bill to rein in lawsuit lending abuses (SB 882). Read More »
ILR President Lisa A. Rickard yesterday released two statements praising both Arkansas and Arizona for their recent progress in reforming attorney general sunshine and asbestos claims laws in the respective states. Read More »
The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a $1.2 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson on Thursday. Read More »
The 2012 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform to explore how fair and reasonable the states' tort liability systems are perceived to be by U.S. businesses. Participants in the survey were comprised of a national sample of 1,125 in-house general counsel, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives who indicated that they are knowledgeable about litigation matters at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenues. The 2012 ranking builds on previous years' work, where in each survey year all 50 states are ranked by those familiar with the litigation environment in that state. Prior to these rankings, information regarding the attitudes of the business world toward the legal systems in each of the states had been largely anecdotal. The State Liability Systems Ranking Study aims to quantify how corporate attorneys view the state systems. Read More »
