Where the corporate-backers of tort restriction have been successful, it is usually because they have convincingly painted their opponents as trial lawyers -- even though it is the rights of all individuals and workers that are being taken away.

This PR focus on lawyers who represent injured consumers seems to work because, as Law Professor Michael Asimow has written, "over the last 20 years, there has been a precipitous drop in the public's perception of the prestige and ethics of lawyers." There are several reasons for this.

"We are constantly forming opinions based on material we absorb from the popular culture that surrounds us," writes Professor Asimow. "One problem is that lawyers' most public function is criminal practice -- the public often sees lawyers standing up for people they believe are criminals.

"But in addition, lawyers are usually needed in life's worst moments, like divorce, probate of a dead parent, disuptes with the IRS, bankruptcies, juvenile crimes. They are also needed if you are injured and have to sue an insurance company. And then there is the opposing counsel, whom we never like. And then, there is a bill. So no matter what happens, we are never happy with the outcome. Moreover, unlike many professions, the income of some trial lawyers is highly publicized. Some people believe they make too much compared to what they do, yet the public often does not understand what trial lawyers do.

"Most lawyers are socially responsible people who work hard for their clients, check government overreaching or corporate abuse, take much undeserved abuse and are pretty ethical. They make a living in a very touch competitive environment.

"We as a society are suffer when lawyers are collectively and unfairly demonized. Consider the American Bar Association slogan: freedom, justice and equality - without lawyers, they're just words." Asimow, Michael, "Bad Lawyers and the Movies," 24 Nova L.Rev. 533 (2000).

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