Jessica Dochney

Haddon Township High School

“Why Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyers are Good for Society”

 In today’s society, there is much difficulty in providing accountability for major

government leaders and giant businesses and corporations. In order to maintain the

American civil justice system in which all are treated fairly, it is necessary to hold

wrongdoers accountable. In America, justice belongs to everyone. In order to ensure

this justice, the rights of regular people must be protected. It is the job of plaintiff’s trial

lawyers to aid the powerless and voiceless by representing them in court. Everyday,

trial lawyers make a difference in their client’s lives by protecting the very basis of

democracy.

In courtrooms across America trial lawyers help consumers and families who

otherwise would not have a chance against huge corporations and insurance

companies. Plaintiff’s trial lawyers work hard to make sure that all people have a fair

chance through the legal system, even if it means taking on the most powerful

corporations. They take on powerful interests by making sure that any person who is

injured by the misconduct and negligence of others can get justice in a courtroom. By

protecting people that are hurt, they challenge businesses to make better, safer
products. Attacking these big corporations fights negligence and corrects bad practices.

This is very beneficial to society, as it promotes safety by helping to prevent people from

getting hurt. By bringing cases to court, trial lawyers serve justice for those who have

been hurt. Without them, people would have to rely on government agencies to allow

deserving individuals to get justice and hold wrongdoers accountable.

Trial lawyers are good for society because they fight against those who want to

conduct business with impunity. By suing and bringing cases to court, they attack those

who disregard whether consumers are injured as a result of their misdeeds. They fight

against those forces that would otherwise take away people’s right to redress. They

serve as class action litigators, who can aggregate many plaintiffs into a single claim.

Class action suits are a means by which consumers cheated and defrauded by

corporations who put profit before people can come together and fight back. It is a way

trial lawyers fight for the voiceless, powerless, and oppressed by bringing suits which

alone they could not pursue.

Uniquely, trial lawyers are able to influence and improve society both in the

courtroom and in the political process. For example, trial lawyers have fought against

the national medical malpractice bill which proposed a one-size-fits-all limit on pain and

suffering of $250,000. This limit would apply to people like Linda McDougall who had a

double mastectomy when it turned out she did not have cancer. The doctors mixed up

her chart with someone else’s. It would apply to the family of Jessica Santian, a

teenager who died from a heart and lung transplant because the doctors did not do the

simple blood test to determine her blood type and her body rejected the heart and lung.
Caps do not make a difference in medical malpractice premiums but hurt those who are

hurt the most by medical malpractice.

Trial lawyers have also fought against reformers in Washington who sought to

limit the rights of those who have been injured or killed by asbestos. The companies

who produced asbestos products knew since the 1800s that asbestos caused lung

disease and covered it up. Congress sought to bail them out and limit awards for those

who have the deadly diseases caused by asbestos. It is trial lawyers who have taken

asbestos out of schools, dangerous cars off the roads, flammable pajamas and

dangerous toys off the market. It is in this way that trial lawyers work to protect workers

and consumers from danger, and in turn create a better society for them to live in.

Recently, Congress has sought to limit class actions and put them all in federal

court, taking away states’ rights to govern such actions. As part of a campaign to shift

the blame for a bad economy from corporations to the legal system, the U.S. Chamber

of Commerce launched an advertising campaign against judges and identified states

with legal systems that they claimed operated unfairly. The Chamber wanted to allow its

members to escape accountability for any wrongdoing. Trial lawyers fight to protect the

American people’s ability to hold businesses and others accountable for the harm they

sometimes inflict. They work in a tort system which results in improved products,

reduced pollution, and safer hospitals and workplaces. These improvements come for

everyone-not just those who litigate.

Plaintiff’s trial lawyers protect a strong civil justice system and legal rights; the

foundation of democracy. A strong civil justice system is one that allows deserving
individuals to get justice and hold wrongdoers accountable. Trial lawyers go above and

beyond to fight for justice for all and make a difference in the lives of many. Their work

protects us from corporate greed, products that maim and kill, sexual predators, and

fraudulent financial schemes. Everyday plaintiff’s trial lawyers improve society by

fighting for these rights. Law and society are interconnected in a crucial way. Law is the

protector of society, and trial lawyers serve as the means through which the everyday

citizen is protected.