Washington Update February 2025

I recently returned from AAJ’s Winter Convention, where I addressed the Council of Presidents and spoke with many representatives from associations across the country. It was reassuring and energizing to be with our trial lawyer members.
 
As always, there is much work to be done to safeguard Americans’ rights.
 
AAJ is extremely concerned about the recent attacks against the judiciary after courts issued rulings on challenges to many of the administration’s recent executive orders.
 
AAJ’s mission includes the commitment to further the rule of law. We fully support the ability of the courts to fulfill their role to interpret and apply the law without fear of retribution. We must have checks and balances—and accountability.
 
On February 18, AAJ’s Board of Governors passed a Resolution in Support of the Rule of Law.
 
I urge trial lawyers everywhere to continue to zealously advocate for your clients. You continue to be the safety net the American people rely on to protect their rights.
 
Advocacy Updates
This month, AAJ and its grassroots campaign Take Justice Back® (TJB) are highlighting on social media the 100th anniversary of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to tell the public about the harmful use of forced arbitration clauses that have infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives.
 
Check out TJB’s posts on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok.
 
Over the course of 100 years, the FAA evolved from a statute meant to help businesses to a tool powerful corporations use to strip Americans of their Seventh Amendment rights. AAJ has fought back at every turn —including helping pass the Ending Forced Arbitration for Sexual Assault and Harassment Act in 2022.
 
The fight is far from over. We’re committed to restoring access to justice and holding corporations accountable.
 
The Expanding Front
AAJ’s advocacy work has expanded profoundly over the past 30 years. Where we once handled bills pertaining to only two areas—products liability and medical malpractice—now, between our state and federal teams, we are handling more than 200 issues.
 
Corporations are feeling emboldened, and we will not cave. Uber has invested millions in a campaign to cap attorney fees at 20% in Nevada. Uber Sexual Assault Survivors for Legal Accountability and the Nevada Justice Association mounted an aggressive legal challenge to this effort and on January 27, the Nevada Supreme Court sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that Uber’s ballot initiative to cap plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in all civil actions was "misleading and confusing." AAJ is proud to partner with TLAs to prepare for their advocacy battles and protect the Seventh Amendment. This initiative will not appear on a ballot in Nevada this year, and Uber will face a steeper hill to climb if it attempts similar efforts in other states.
 
Legal Affairs
 
Amicus Curiae Update
AAJ’s amicus brief program addresses issues of access to justice and the right to a jury trial that are important to our lawyers’ clients and their practices. We often file amicus curiae briefs jointly with state TLAs and other national pro-consumer groups.
 
We had a recent victory in Maryland where the state supreme court upheld the constitutionality of the Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminated a previously existing statute of limitation (SOL) on child sexual abuse lawsuits. Maryland’s law represents one of the best laws in the country for protecting child sex abuse survivors.
 
This is the third state supreme court opinion on child sexual assault SOL laws published within the same week. Maine struck down its law and North Carolina upheld its law. AAJ filed amicus briefs in the Maryland case with Public Justice, the Maryland Association for Justice, Child USA, and Change the Conversation, and in the Maine case with the Maine Trial Lawyers Association.
 
In the first six weeks of 2025, AAJ filed five briefs in state and federal courts on clickwrap arbitration agreements, constitutionality of qui tam claims, the right to trial by jury in Camp Lejeune claims, caps on damages, and personal jurisdiction.
 
You can access AAJ’s amicus briefs on our website. For more information or to request AAJ amicus support, please  email our legal affairs team .
 
Federal Rules Update
Over the past decade, the number of proposed rules considered by the rules committees of the Judicial Conference has increased dramatically. This work has expanded our advocacy for lawyers and their clients, enabling us to fight bad proposed rules on discovery, depositions, class actions, expert witnesses, and MDLs. There are also now proposed amendments that would enhance plaintiff law practices.
 
Most recently, at the end of January, AAJ filed testimony and comment on FRAP 29—Brief of an Amicus Curiae. The public hearing occurred on February 14.
 
Unlike some rules debates where defense and plaintiff interests are diametrically opposed, most organizations oppose one or more aspects of the FRAP 29 proposal. AAJ’s comment, among other things, states that while we never agree with the U.S. Chamber’s Center for Litigation on the merits, we agree with them that this proposed rule is problematic. Our two primary concerns are:
 
•Elimination of party consent, which will require leave of court (permission from the court) to file a brief. This will lead to motion practice, be more expensive for amici, and be time-consuming for the courts.
 
•The addition to the rule of a "Purpose" section would have the federal appellate courts policing briefs for redundancy, among other things. Amici may not know whether their proposed brief is redundant with another amici until they request permission to file, at which point, they have already expended resources to write the brief, and the court may be perceived as "playing favorites" by deciding whose brief it will accept.
 
AAJ believes it would be better policy to adopt the rule of the U.S. Supreme Court and accept all briefs. Alternatively, if the Appellate Committee does not wish to accept all briefs, it should retain the existing rule providing for party consent, which should allow for amici to obtain consent from the parties in a vast majority of cases.
 
The public hearing docket, including the witness list and the submitted testimony, is available. The comment docket closed on February 17.
 
AAJ is proud to collaborate with state and local trial lawyer associations nationwide to share and build upon our successes so that the right to a jury trial is protected and all plaintiff trial lawyers can obtain justice for their clients. I  welcome your input and questions.

CONTACT AAJ Advocacy Email: advocacy@justice.org