National Law Journal, "The combustible world of pricing tort system"

It is not surprising that a study reporting a sharp rise in the cost of the tort sysatem would be embraced by the American Tort Reform Association -- and just as quickly attacked by trial lawyers. But a close look at the study, which purports to be "unbiased," demonstrates how difficult it is both to research this complex and sprawling subject and to pass muster with academics who have long mined the same terrain.

Several researchers questioned the study's methodology and language, and suggested it tilts toward the "tort reform" faction. At the same time, some of the same scholars praised the effort to take on this politically charged domain with statistics rather than, as one professor put it, "argument through anecdote." The study breaks down the percentages of recoveries by plaintiffs -- 22% for economic and 24% for non-economic losses, 19% for attorneys' fees -- though it does not explain how they're calculated.