Garden State Times

The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) has recently published two reports that scrutinize the impact of trial lawyers on New Jersey politics and public perceptions. The reports also shed light on the strategies employed by these attorneys, which include advertising and campaign contributions.

ATRA President Tiger Joyce said in a press release, "These reports provide a sobering glimpse into the nexus of law, politics, and public perception in New Jersey. The significant campaign contributions from plaintiffs’ firms raise concerns about the potential influence on legislative and judicial decisions. Meanwhile, their ads are another aggressive tactic employed by trial lawyers to solicit clients, often utilizing dubious claims."

According to an ATRA press release, the first report focuses on trends in legal services advertising over the past four years. ATRA examined the $105.3 million that New Jersey trial lawyers spent on 642,600 local legal services ads across various mediums such as print, digital, radio, outdoor, and TV.

The analysis revealed a recent shift in plaintiffs’ firm’s advertising strategies according to the press release. There was less spending on print ads with more funds being directed towards spot TV, radio, and outdoor ads. ATRA stated that personal injury attorneys were responsible for more than half of the ads focusing on trial law.

The second report highlights campaign contributions made by lawyers from 20 plaintiffs’ firms to New Jersey political campaigns and committees since 2017 according to another press release. It examines the top 20 firms over the last five years which collectively contributed more than $2 million through nearly 3,000 individual contributions. The report also identifies Malamut & Associates and Javerbaum Wurgraft as the largest donors.

Joyce further added in the release that "Such close financial ties between trial lawyers and politicians raise concerns about undue influence and a lack of transparency."