JEDDAH, 1 July 2003 — “The US legal system is really facing a series of challenges, particularly as to whether or not foreign investors have confidence in the legal environment in order to invest in the US,” Stanton D. Anderson, the executive vice president and chief legal officer of the US Chamber of Commerce, told Saudi businessmen on Saturday.
Anderson was a guest lecturer of the Businessmen’s Club at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Speaking to a group of Saudi businessmen and lawyers, Anderson discussed the impact of the current US legal system on US and foreign citizens, and the US Chamber of Commerce’s efforts for legal reform and defense of business interests in the courts. Specifically, he described the National Chamber Litigation Center, which is the public policy legal arm of the chamber; and the Institute for Legal Reform, dedicated to restoring fairness, efficiency, and consistency to the US civil justice system.
Anderson detailed the unique features and flaws of the US legal system, particularly when it comes to the protection that is afforded to a plaintiff in a lawsuit. In the last 20 years such protection has led to the rise of the trial lawyer and in the 1990s brought about the success of the class action lawsuit. “What we find today is that people can bring lawsuits for virtually any reason, at any time, for any amount.”
Recently the US Chamber of Commerce commissioned an independent study which estimated the annual cost of frivolous litigation on the US economy at $200 billion a year.
Anderson also touched on the Sept. 11 $16 trillion lawsuit against various parties including Saudi businesses and charities, accusing them of financing Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terror network and Afghanistan’s former Taleban regime.
He said he heard the rumor that the current US administration will dismiss the lawsuit based on matters of national security. “But I doubt that’s going to happen. We are in a land of speculation. This case could last as long as 10 years, because unlike the British system — where the loser pays damages for bringing a lawsuit — (in the US) a trial lawyer will take it as far as he can.”
Anderson also emphasized the urgency of both the Saudi and US chambers to work closely for the investor’s best interests. “There is no reason why our industries can’t cooperate in being more forceful and successful in making your views and concerns known.”
