By Thurlow Weed
Ed Murnane, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League, writes at Illinois Justice Blog about the decision to change the name of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America to the "American Association for Justice":
Excuse me for giggling -- or gagging.
Trial lawyers -- and we should be clear: we're referring to plaintiffs' lawyers, and usually plaintiff's personal injury lawyers -- understand that they are not particularly well-respected. They are the brunt of jokes, they are the target of criticism from corners such as this, they are held in pretty low regard.
They are the original "ambulance chasers." And it's good that they understand that.
But what they don't understand is that their image problem is not because of their name, it's because of their conduct.
