Rgarding the post I put up yesterday on the proposed ABA standard regarding Asbestos, David Held emails "Your point is what? Who wants to bet that trial lawyers have given a fortune to Senate Democrats? You can't blame Grace for giving to Bush because the Dems have already been spoken for."

The point is that "trial lawyers" feel like they have to contribute to democrats. The way I see it, it's Big Insurance that's trying to substantively change the law, making it harder for regular people to see the inside of a courtroom. The "trial lawyers" are merely responding to this threat to (1) the rights of their clients, and (2) potentially, their livelihood.

I hope it's not in bad taste to admit that we lawyers have a significant stake in this debate. Altruistically, I don't want to see these incursions into time-tested rights. At the same time, I have to make a living. And when Bushie no. 1 makes it a major campaign theme [and now a major legislative initiative] to potentially put me out of business -- and for all the wrong reasons -- I think that the public ought to know what's really going on, at least from my side of the mountain.

Anyway, thanks for the email, David.