Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

Last updated

The Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), previously the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association (LATLA), is one of the largest associations of plaintiffs lawyers in the United States. [1] [2] Although CAALA refers to itself as a local association, it has almost 3,000 members and is larger than all but six state trial-bar associations. [2] CAALA's annual Las Vegas convention is the largest gathering of plaintiffs lawyers in the United States and its magazine, The Advocate, is the most widely circulated trial-bar publication in the country. [2]

Contents

CAALA has been influential in promoting legislation to protect consumer rights. [1] But the association has also been fiercely criticized by tort-reform organizations and medical associations. [3]

Events and awards

Since its inception in 1949, CAALA has held an annual installation and awards dinner in Beverly Hills. [4] At the event, CAALA recognizes its "Trial Lawyer of the Year," "Appellate Lawyer of the Year," "Trial Judge of the Year," and "Appellate Justice of the Year." [4] In recent years, the awards presentation has been attended by numerous members of the judiciary and state government; for example, the 2010 event included 50 judges and justices. [1] The first African American to be honored as CAALA's "Trial Lawyer of the Year," was Johnnie Cochran, who received the award in 1990. [5] In 2008, Jeffrey Ehrlich became the first ever two-time recipient of CAALA's "Appellate Lawyer of the Year" award, having previously received the award in 2004. [6]

Since 1982, CAALA has held an annual convention in Las Vegas, which features lectures from high-profile plaintiffs lawyers, as well as defense counsel and judges. [7] Today, the convention attracts thousands of attendees from across the United States. [7] In 2008, when incoming California Senate President Pro Tem, Darrell Steinberg raised eyebrows by spending over a thousand dollars for a one-night stay at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, it turned out that the trip had been a fundraising expedition to the CAALA convention. [8]

CAALA has recently begun a campaign to use billboards throughout Los Angeles to build public awareness of the good that the organization contends consumer lawyers do for society. [9]

Controversy

In 1985, when a telephone hotline opened up to warn doctors about litigious patients, CAALA retaliated by creating a hotline that patients could call to see whether their doctor had been sued for malpractice during the prior 10 years. [10] [11] The Los Angeles County Medical Association called the CAALA hotline "a sham and a shame, a miscarriage and a corruption of justice." [3] CAALA claimed the hotline would increase business for doctors with good records by steering patients away from the small minority of doctors who are responsible for most malpractice claims. [10]

In 1994, in a move with national repercussions, the organization became the first trial-bar association to change its name to avoid use of the phrase "trial lawyers." [12] It claimed that the switch from "Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association" to "Consumers Attorneys Association of Los Angeles" was carried out after the organization commissioned a survey that showed 70% of the public associated the phrase "trial lawyer" with criminal-defense attorneys. [12] Tort-reform advocates accused CAALA of adopting its new name in an attempt to confuse voters and conceal that the organization's members are largely personal-injury lawyers who file lawsuits in order to obtain large contingency fees. [13] When California's state trial-bar association followed CAALA's lead and adopted a "consumer attorney" moniker, tort-reform groups accused both organizations of "consumer fraud" and said the trial lawyers' attempt to hide within the pro-consumer movement was "obvious and repulsive." [14]

In 1995, tort-reform groups claimed that CAALA had given hundreds of thousands of dollars to a consumer activist in order to buy his public opposition to tort-reform initiatives. [15] The supporters of the initiatives asserted that CAALA had a "stranglehold on consumers" and that the organization relied on facially neutral pro-consumer groups to do its "dirty work." CAALA's supporters contended that the organizations making those accusations were themselves funded by the insurance industry. [15]

In 1996, CAALA publicly attacked ABC's John Stossel for representing himself as a consumer reporter despite having received hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate interest groups. [16] It claimed that the so-called "Loser Pays" system that Stossel advocated as a way of decreasing litigation would actually deprive ordinary Americans of access to the civil justice system, by forcing them to risk financial ruin if they attempted to hold corporations responsible in court. [16]

Related Research Articles

A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil action brought by a plaintiff demands a legal or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is in the plaintiff's favor, and a variety of court orders may be issued to enforce a right, award damages, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.

An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer. As of April 2011, there were 1,225,452 licensed attorneys in the United States. A 2012 survey conducted by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell determined 58 million consumers in the U.S. sought an attorney in the last year and that 76 percent of consumers used the Internet to search for an attorney.

Courtroom Enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court

A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual technology to permit everyone present to clearly hear testimony and see exhibits.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organization is one of the Democratic Party's most influential political allies, according to The Washington Post.

Personal injury

Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common-law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit has suffered harm to his or her body or mind. Personal injury lawsuits are filed against the person or entity that caused the harm through negligence, gross negligence, reckless conduct, or intentional misconduct, and in some cases on the basis of strict liability. Different jurisdictions describe the damages in different ways, but damages typically include the injured person's medical bills, pain and suffering, and diminished quality of life.

Robert A. Clifford (1950/1951) is a Chicago trial lawyer and principal partner at Clifford Law Offices. Clifford's firm specializes in "personal injury, medical malpractice, mass torts, consumer and health care fraud, product liability, and aviation and transportation disasters." He attended DePaul University for both his undergraduate work and Juris Doctor, finishing in 1976. The firm was founded in 1984 to represent plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases.

A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer who provides legal services to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person, company, government agency or any entity. Personal injury lawyers primarily practice in the area of law known as tort law. Examples of common personal injury claims include injuries from slip and fall accidents, traffic collisions, defective products, workplace injuries and professional malpractice.

Consumer Attorneys of California is an organization with more than 3,000 lawyers that represents plaintiffs in tort actions. It charges plaintiffs only if they win their cases, meaning they use a contingency-based fee system. According to Consumer Attorneys of California, those it sues generally are far greater in strength than its clients. Up until 1995, it was known as the California Trial Lawyers Association.

The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975 was a statute enacted by the California Legislature in September 1975, which was intended to lower medical malpractice liability insurance premiums for healthcare providers in that state by decreasing their potential tort liability.

Tort reform Legal reforms aimed at reducing tort litigation

Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes are generally justified under the grounds that litigation is an inefficient means to compensate plaintiffs; that tort law permits frivolous or otherwise undesirable litigation to crowd the court system; or that the fear of litigation can serve to curtail innovation, raise the cost of consumer goods or insurance premiums for suppliers of services, and increase legal costs for businesses. Tort reform has primarily been prominent in common law jurisdictions, where criticism of judge-made rules regarding tort actions manifests in calls for statutory reform by the legislature.

Insider Exclusive

The Insider Exclusive television show regularly produces original Dateline, 60 Minutes, 20/20, and prime time style television shows for the public and broadcasts them on major cable networks such as PBS, CNN, MSNBC, TruTV, Fox, Time Warner and Comcast, Cox, Charter, A&E, Discovery, TLC, and Bravo. The focus is primarily on "Important Business, Legal and Public Policy Issues". The Insider Exclusive also features important cases that represent injustice, unfairness and/or deception, either for individuals or groups seeking to vindicate their civil rights.

Theodore H. Frank is an American lawyer, activist, and legal writer, based in Washington, D.C. He is the counsel of record and petitioner in Frank v. Gaos, the first Supreme Court case to deal with the issue of cy pres in class action settlements; he is one of the few Supreme Court attorneys ever to argue his own case. He wrote the vetting report of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin for the John McCain campaign in the 2008 presidential election. He founded the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) in 2009; it temporarily merged with the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2015, but as of 2019 CCAF is now part of the new Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a free-market nonprofit public-interest law firm founded by Frank and his CCAF colleague Melissa Holyoak. The New York Times calls him the "leading critic of abusive class-action settlements"; the Wall Street Journal has referred to him as "a leading tort-reform advocate" and praised his work exposing dubious practices by plaintiffs' attorneys in class actions.

Legal financing is the mechanism or process through which litigants can finance their litigation or other legal costs through a third party funding company.

The Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) is a 30,000-member section of the American Bar Association. It is a forum uniting plaintiff, defense, insurance and corporate counsel to advance the civil justice system. The section is broken down into general committees, standing committees and task forces.

Vartkes Boghos Yeghiayan was an Armenian-American attorney specializing in international law. He was known for launching several lawsuits against insurance companies for insurance policies issued to Armenians in the early 20th century during the time of the Armenian genocide.

Brad Lowber Hendricks is an American attorney, former President of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and President of The Brad Hendricks Law Firm, one of the largest firms in the State of Arkansas. He is the son of Lowber Hendricks, a prominent Arkansas attorney and Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge. Brad's decision to become an attorney is largely attributed to his father, Lowber Hendricks. His siblings are Karol Anne McNutt and Bryan Hendricks.

Raymond Paul Boucher is an American trial attorney. Throughout his career, Boucher has represented clients in a wide range of matters including consumer litigation, construction defect litigation, product liability, toxic tort litigation and employment discrimination. He served as lead attorney in the landmark $660-million sexual-abuse settlement with the Catholic archdiocese where he represented over 250 abuse victims in the July 2007 settlement. He was able to help secure over one billion dollars in recovery for victims of abuse by Catholic Priests in Southern California.

Jeffrey Ehrlich American lawyer and author

Jeffrey Isaac Ehrlich is an American lawyer and author, known for handling landmark appeals in the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. He is co-author of the influential Thomson Reuters treatise on insurance litigation, and editor-in-chief of Advocate, the most widely circulated trial-bar magazine in the United States. He and his son, Clinton Ehrlich, are also known for exonerating Sgt. Raymond Lee Jennings, an Iraq War veteran who served 11 years of a life sentence for murdering teenager Michelle O'Keefe.

Ed Howard (lawyer) American lawyer

Ed Howard is an American public interest lawyer and strategist who currently works as the Senior Counsel for the Children's Advocacy Institute and the Center for Public Interest Law based at the University of San Diego School of Law. He is also President of Howard Advocacy in Sacramento, California.

Garo Mardirossian is a prominent Armenian-American lawyer practicing in Los Angeles. Mardirossian has had significant law cases involving personal injury, civil rights, complex litigation, product liability, and constitutional law. Several of the cases he has been involved in have brought national and international attention, including the Dole bridal shower and Thomas beating cases by different police agencies. The Dole Family case involved many victims, including the television celebrity female wrestler known as Mt. Fiji, and resulted in the highest monetary jury award against a policing agency in U.S. history.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Armenian Report, "Garo Mardirossian installed as president of LA Consumer Attorneys Association", 2-3-2010, "Armenian Reporter". Archived from the original on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  2. 1 2 3 "Six Decades Later, It's Still About Connections", Stewart Zanville, The Advocate, 4-11-2011, pp. 18-20, http://content.yudu.com/A1rmos/AdvocateApril2011/resources/20.htm
  3. 1 2 "Lawyers' Group Launches Hotline on Medical Suits", The Associated Press, 5-6-1986
  4. 1 2 The Armenian Reporter, "Garo Mardirossian installed as president-elect of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles", 1-31-2009, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2013-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ PR Newswire, "Johnnie L. Cochran Named 'Trial Lawyer of the Year'", 1-8-1991
  6. ↑ "Garo Mardirossian installed as president-elect of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles", The Armenian Reporter, "Armenian Reporter". Archived from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  7. 1 2 "CAALA Vegas Convention 2011", The Advocate, Philip Michels, July 2011, http://www.michelswatkins.com/CM/Articles/Michels%20Column%20-%20June%202011.pdf%5B%5D
  8. ↑ San Jose Mercury News, "Avoiding legislative temptations", 4-20-2008
  9. ↑ Professional Services Close Up, "AlderLaw Names New President of Consumer Attorneys Association of L.A.", 1-30-2012.
  10. 1 2 "Physicians, Attorneys Wage Hotline War Over Litigation Lists", The Associated Press, 12-25-1985
  11. ↑ "Doctors v. Lawyers: 'A Real Nasty Fight'", The New York Times, 2-14-1986
  12. 1 2 Business Wire, 11-14-1994, "Public confusion with criminal defense lawyers causes Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association to change name to Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles"
  13. ↑ PR Newswire, "Personal Injury Lawyers Should Change the System - Not Their Name", 11-16-1994
  14. ↑ PR Newswire, "Trial lawyers gather this weekend to vote on whether to include 'consumer' in association name", 1-26-1995
  15. 1 2 Metropolitan News Enterprise, "Tort Reform Backers Blast Opponent for Fund-Raising", 12-21-1995
  16. 1 2 Business Wire, "The trouble with 'The Trouble With Lawyers'", 1-4-1996
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.