“Michigan’s next governor will have a major impact on whether there will be more lawsuits in our courts because of his or her ability to appoint judges,” noted Robert B. Dorigo Jones, M-LAW President.

M-LAW President, Robert B. Dorigo Jones, is pictured here holding the tongue-in-cheek “Personal Injury Lawyers’ Choice ‘Award’” that the group presented to Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm. M-LAW spent two months researching campaign finance records on file with the Michigan Secretary of State to expose the political contributions of personal injury lawyers.

“The next governor could appoint as many as half of the state’s 616 judges. We believe it is important for citizens to know which candidates for Michigan’s highest public office are receiving money from the group of lawyers whose members have been known to file lawsuits over spilled coffee and other self-inflicted injuries,” Dorigo Jones said.

   “In order to give Michigan citizens this valuable information, M-LAW reviewed the more than 20,000 political contributions listed in the gubernatorial candidates’ most recent public campaign finance reports. We then matched those names with a list of lawyers often referred to as “contingency fee lawyers” or “plaintiff’s attorneys” compiled from Michigan Trial Lawyer Association records and other sources. This was an enormous job -- it’s easy to see why it has never been completed before,” added Dorigo Jones.

   According to M-LAW’s analysis, no other gubernatorial candidate received close to the amount of money Granholm took in from personal injury lawyers. Former governor James Blanchard received the next largest share with just 9.2% of all the trial lawyer money contributed, or $25,000. Congressman David Bonior received 3.7% ($10,125). Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus and state Senator John Schwarz barely registered on the chart, receiving 0.8% ($2,000) and 0.1% ($250) respectively. Michigan trial lawyers specializing in plaintiff’s lawsuits have contributed a total of $271,145 to the five gubernatorial candidates, and Granholm has received $233,145 of that amount.

   With a full six months to go until the general election, 29 plaintiff’s lawyers have already contributed the maximum amount of $3,400 that state law allows anyone to give to a candidate for governor, and all but one of those sent that money to Granholm. Among the 28 trial lawyers who have “maxed” out in their contribution are personal injury lawyers Sam Bernstein and Lee Steinberg, well known by their frequent television ads.

   “Considering the large number of appointments Michigan’s next governor is likely to make to trial courts and the Supreme Court, Michigan citizens will want to know who he or she will rely on for advice. Will the next governor dial 1-800-CALL-SAM to get advice on judicial appointments? If so, what would that mean for Michigan’s legal climate,” asked Dorigo Jones.

   “In addition to making judicial appointments, the next governor could sign laws expanding legal liability and exposing Michigan families, communities and job providers to even more lawsuits and higher costs, said Dorigo Jones. Already, the Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit must sell 32,000 boxes of cookies every year just to pay for liability insurance in case they are sued. How many more boxes of cookies should Girl Scouts be forced to sell? Teachers are being sued by violent students who start fights in school and who don’t like it when the teacher tries to intervene. How safe will our schools be if trial lawyers are allowed to file even more lawsuits?

   The Michigan Trial Lawyers Association has publicly opposed many of the common sense reforms designed to end lawsuit abuse. M-LAW believes it is important for the people of Michigan to know which candidates are being financially supported by the members of that association.

   M-LAW, based in Southfield, is working to alert Michigan citizens about the high cost of frivolous lawsuits and promoting activities to restore common sense to our civil justice system.

   M-LAW has received national news coverage of its annual “Wacky Warning Label Contest” and “Whiplash Awards for America’s Most Frivolous Lawsuits.” The group’s new “Personal Injury Lawyers’ Choice ‘Award’” offers the public another opportunity to take note of the activities of what is quite possibly the largest single group of political contributors in the Michigan today, Dorigo Jones said.