WHAT’S IN a name, and why did Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse use this space recently to cast its sticks and stones?

Last month, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America changed its name to the American Association for Justice. The name change is part of a broader effort by the national trial bar to fight back against decades of anti-lawyer propaganda funded by big business and special interests. Much of that funding has gone to front groups such as CALA and the America Tort Reform Association to produce op-ed pieces like the one that appeared here.

ATLA changed its name to the American Association for Justice because we wanted our name to emphasize what we, as trial lawyers, stand for -- justice.

The truth is, trial lawyers have much to be proud of. Twenty-two of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, including John Adams, were trial lawyers. Thirty-two of the 55 framers of the Constitution, including James Madison, were trial lawyers. Many of our most prominent historic figures – Abraham Lincoln, for example -- were trial lawyers.

Trial lawyers serve a vital purpose in our democracy by preserving the rule of law, defending the people’s constitutional rights and protecting the public against reckless corporate behavior, dangerous products and unsafe practices. We regularly expose wrongdoing that others would rather keep secret, and we are not afraid to speak truth to power.

Because we are willing to advance costs and forego fees unless we win, even the poorest citizen can go to court and stand on equal footing with the wealthiest corporation.

For this, the trial bar has earned the enmity of those who believe they should not have to answer to ordinary Americans, or cut into their bottom line to pay damages to those they injure. So, for the past 30 years, they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying for “tort reform” laws, vilifying trial lawyers, undermining our jury system, and limiting access to justice.

That is why ATRA, CALA and a plethora of similar and deceptively named organizations came into being.

An investigation by the watchdog group Public Citizen found that CALA, contrary to its claims of being supported by small citizen contributions, is largely subsidized by wealthy corporate donors, particularly the tobacco, insurance, oil and gas, medical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Through the skillful and aggressive use of public relations, groups like CALA have created a world where pejorative modifiers like “junk” and “abuse” are always appended to “lawsuit,” no matter how meritorious the claim or egregious the corporate misconduct. Well-funded think tanks, pundits and commentators conjure up phony statistics on the cost of the legal system, but fail to study or acknowledge the human toll of lost incomes, ruined families, and pain and suffering caused by avoidable injury.

In CALA’s PR world, all trial lawyers are “greedy,” but purveyors of poisonous products for profit are not.

This well-funded anti-lawyer cabal has been able to hoodwink the American public into believing our civil justice system is out of control, and scare voters in many states into relinquishing essential legal rights. Meanwhile, corporate America continues to insist upon an unfettered right to file billion-dollar lawsuits and to pay their own lawyers exorbitant fees -- win, lose or draw.

By attacking trial lawyers, CALA is really attacking the people we represent. It is not the trial lawyer who must spend every day in pain caused by someone else’s negligence. It is not the trial lawyer whose loved one lies buried below a manicured grave. Conversely, it is not the trial lawyer whose year-end bonus depends on putting profits ahead of consumer safety.

As someone who understands what’s at stake, I applaud the efforts of the American Association for Justice to fight back against CALA and similar merchants of deceit.