Perhaps the legal profession is not the most loved of all (although it enjoys a surprisingly high degree of prestige), but even among lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America is a particularly strong lightning rod for hate. Certainly in politically conservative and pro-business circles the mere mention of trial lawyers and ATLA helps open wallets.
Given the seemingly insurmountable negative association that the term trial lawyers has among various constituents, ATLA recently announced that it is changing its name to American Association for Justice.
Notes Ross Fishman, an attorney who works as a legal marketing consultant, "the tort reform movement has done a much better job of marketing this [negative connotation] to the masses. This is a very high-level strategy focusing on multibillion-dollar issues."
Fishman suggests that trial attorneys should "focus on the word ‘justice,’ because people want justice, and they want others to get justice. They’ve let the opposition frame the discussion, and now the trial lawyers are fighting a defensive battle on tort reform’s home ground."
Certainly ATLA's rebranding effort hasn't gone unnoticed by critics. American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) General Counsel Victor Schwartz quipped, "will not a trial lawyer by any other name still find irresistible the sweet smell of self-interested litigation?"
Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, described ATLA's decision as "an astounding admission of the unpopularity of trial lawyers in America....Obscuring who they are by removing the words ‘trial’ and ‘lawyer’ from their name is only cosmetic surgery unless it is followed by abandoning the high-dollar business model of industry-targeted lawsuits, followed by a real commitment to comprehensive reform of our civil justice system.”
And attorney Robert J. Ambrogi argued that "ATLA's opponents will remain its opponents. It is not a name change ATLA needs, but better PR and marketing to show the public that it is not a circling shark."
Although this should not be mistaken as an endorsement for ATLA, from a PR perspective I agree with Ambrogi that the organization needs to improve its image by highlighting its successes to the public and by taking a more aggressive stance in fighting its critics.
Something along the lines of what Bill Staub, ATLA's deputy director of communications, describes this way:
"Trial lawyers must stop playing defense and go on offense, something that’s more difficult than it sounds, given the amount of money and the cast of powerful characters on the other side. But it can be done.
Attempting to refute every charge or lie tort “reformers” level at the civil justice system is a no-win game. Trial lawyers can talk to the point of exhaustion, refuting whatever claim is devised, and still end up on the short end, forced to explain the next line of deceit.
Any time a question about trial lawyers’ integrity is raised, they must question the ulterior motive of those issuing the challenge."
It'll be interesting to see whether the name change from ATLA to AAJ helps in this endeavor.
What do you think?
(Picture of U.S. Courthouse from tomcamption)
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