Texas Legal System Improves Again

Texas’ lawsuit climate ranks 36th in the country, climbing five places from 2008 and moving toward the mainstream, according to a state legal system survey released today by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The Texas Civil Justice League (TCJL) credits state leaders, lawmakers and the Supreme Court with the marked improvement in national ranking. Texas ranked as low as 46th in the 2002 and 2003 surveys.

“Texas has made a number of key improvements in its lawsuit system, and so it is no surprise that the state has jumped ten points in the Harris survey over the last eight years,” said Lisa A. Rickard, ILR president. “Though issues of judicial fairness persist in pockets within the state, Texas’ legal climate is certainly moving in the right direction.”

“Texas has proven that legal reform fuels economic growth and expands access to health care,” said Cary Roberts, TCJL communications director. “The 2010 ILR/Harris survey results confirm that a balanced civil justice system encourages business expansion and investment.”

The 2010 survey, conducted by Harris Interactive Inc., explored how reasonable and balanced U.S. business perceives state tort liability systems. Survey participants included 1,482 in-house general counsels, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives. This is the eighth state liability survey commissioned by ILR since 2002.

Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said that the litigation environment in a state is likely to impact important business decisions at their companies, including where to locate, an increase from 63 percent in 2008 and 57 percent in 2007.

The state of Texas was singled out as having the worst specific city or county courts (34 percent), just ahead of California (33 percent). Problematic Texas jurisdictions mentioned by those surveyed included Beaumont (3 percent), East Texas (2 percent), Houston (2 percent) and Dallas (2 percent). The reason given most often (37 percent) for negative feelings about particular jurisdictions was because of biased or partial judges and juries.

Founded in 1986, the Texas Civil Justice League is the state’s first business liability and legal reform coalition. Robert L. Looney, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association, chairs the board of directors and executive committee. Dr. George S. Christian serves as the organization’s president and general counsel.

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NOTE: The complete ILR/Harris survey is available online at: www.instituteforlegalreform.com.

June 28, 2010

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