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BAR ASSOCIATIONS' RESPONSE |
America's lawyers and judges come from all walks of life, serve in communities all across the country, and represent all political views. As a profession, their interests and priorities lie not in partisanship or power, but in the pursuit of justice and the challenge of ensuring that every citizen enjoys the liberties and opportunities to which they are entitled.
The legal profession has never been immune from criticism, but in recent years disdain for lawyers and judges has bordered on the hysterical, as they have increasingly been held up as scapegoats or caught in the crosscurrents of debates over the hot-button social issues of our time.
As a result, Americans are becoming increasingly cynical about the fairness and equity of the legal system. This is a dangerous trend. When people think of the role of lawyers in our society, they should not think of a burden dragging us down, but rather a force carrying us to new heights. To allow politics to interfere with the courts is to undercut 200 years of constitutional tradition.
The American Bar Association has responded with the following items, which we encourage you to use in response to unjust attacks on the judiciary, the courts and the legal profession.
Response to Lawyer- and Judge-bashing
- An Open Letter from ABA President Dennis W. Archer to the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee [PDF]
- Sample op-ed on lawyer-bashing [PDF]
- Sample letter to the editor on lawyer-bashing [PDF]
- Sample op-ed on judge-bashing [PDF]
- Sample letter to the editor on judge-bashing [PDF]
Medical Malpractice/Tort Reform Resources
- Medical Malpractice FAQ [PDF]
- Medical Malpractice Myths v. Reality [PDF]
- Sample op-ed on Medical Mapractice [PDF]
- Sample letter to the editor on Medical Mapractice [PDF]
Links to additional resources and studies
- ABA Judicial Division Model Program on Responding to Criticism of Judges [HTML] (Contact the Judicial Division for print copies and for copy of accompanying video)
- "Proud of Who We Are, Proud of What We Do" (Dennis Drasco, Chair, ABA Litigation Section) (Contact the Litigation Section for print copies)
- "Destroying the Negative Lawyer Myths: Act Now on Lawyer Bashing" (Kelly Frels, President, State Bar of Texas) (From the Texas Bar Journal, December 2004).
See also the Power Point presentation "Lawyers in Texas: Who Are We; What is Our Role; and What Are the Issues for 2004-2005?"
- Search "Tort Reform" and "Criticism of Court Judges" in ABA's Bar Cat knowledge base [HTML]
- ABA Response to U.S. Chamber of Commerce ads undermining public confidence in American judges and the legal system [HTML]
- ABA Resources on Medical Malpractice Reform [HTML]
- ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence Resource Kit on Judicial Independence [HTML]
- ABA Governmental Affairs Office (GAO)
- American Bar Foundation
- Center for Justice and Democracy [HTML]
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America [HTML]
- Search Google News for stories about Tort Reform
