AAJ Buys Ads Opposing Med-Mal Reform, Despite Budget Problems
The American Association for Justice is funding a new ad campaign, despite financial woes spurred by a drop in membership dues.
Membership dues dropped $9.4 million from 2005 to 2008, Washington Times reports. The decline in income contributed to a $6.2 million deficit in the group’s operating budget for 2008. The newspaper based its story on AAJ’s financial report filed with the Internal Revenue Service for the fiscal year ending July 31 last year.
Joey Diaz, a member of the AAJ executive committee, told Washington Times that the organization has reversed its downward trend in membership and it is “starting to move forward again.”
Despite last year’s financial troubles, the trial lawyers group rolled out a new “ad blitz” called Put Patients First, the story says. The campaign warns against medical malpractice reform that takes rights away from patients injured by medical errors. AAJ asked its members to pony up extra money to fund the campaign in a solicitation last week.
The American Bar Association has also seen a decline in revenue from dues and other sources, according to a report by the association’s treasurer, Alice Richmond, at the ABA annual meeting. Richmond said then that the association hopes to keep expenses under budget for the 2009 fiscal year.
Hat tip to Overlawyered.
