Last fall, we shared that Ryan Patrick would become the next Chief Executive Officer of Texans for Lawsuit Reform. This month, Ryan officially stepped into that role, and with it, the responsibility of leading TLR at a pivotal moment for Texas families and employers.
TLR was founded with a clear purpose: to protect the Texas Economic Miracle by defending a civil justice system that is fair, efficient, and predictable — one that allows legitimate claims to be heard while preventing the kind of runaway lawsuits that raise costs, punish employers, and quietly undermine job creation.
Ryan Patrick brings a rare, full-spectrum understanding of how the legal system actually works in practice. Over the course of his career, he has seen Texas courts from every angle — as a state prosecutor, a district judge, a private-sector attorney, and as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, appointed by President Donald Trump to lead one of the nation’s largest federal prosecutor’s offices. That experience matters at a time when lawsuit abuse is once again driving up insurance premiums, increasing consumer costs, and threatening the affordability that has long set Texas apart.
Just as important, Ryan understands what is at stake. Texas did not become an economic leader by accident. Our growth was built on disciplined legal reforms that rewarded responsibility, discouraged abuse, and gave businesses and families confidence in the system. Protecting that legacy is now central to TLR’s next chapter.
In an opinion piece published this week in The Dallas Morning News, TLR CEO Ryan Patrick lays out a stark reality Texans are already feeling: insurance costs are rising, affordability is slipping, and Texas is falling behind states that are taking lawsuit abuse seriously.
Ryan explains how trial lawyers successfully blocked common-sense reforms last session, even as states like Florida and Georgia passed bold changes that are already lowering insurance premiums for consumers. He also explains how the same forces that once fought reform from the left are now quietly working to shape Republican primaries, stopping reform before voters ever have a chance to weigh in.
Texas has led before. The question now is whether we are willing to lead again.
👉 Read the full op-ed from Ryan Patrick in The Dallas Morning News
In his Dallas Morning News op-ed this week, TLR CEO Ryan Patrick highlighted a troubling trend: between 2021 and 2024, homeowners in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio saw insurance premiums increase by more than 23% Comparatively, Georgia and Florida saw insurance premiums drop and competition increase following the passage of tort reform legislation.
That increase reflects the real-world cost of a legal system drifting away from discipline and predictability. As other states move to rein in lawsuit abuse and stabilize insurance markets, Texas families are paying more each year, not because risk has changed but because the system has.
In 1995, Texas had a lawsuit problem that threatened its economic future. Frivolous claims were routinely filed with little evidentiary support, driving up legal costs, clogging courts, and forcing businesses and insurers to price in the risk of defending cases that never should have been brought.
That year, Texans for Lawsuit Reform worked alongside Gov. George W. Bush and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock to pass a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at restoring discipline to the legal system. A central piece of that effort was Senate Bill 31, which strengthened penalties for frivolous pleadings.
For the first time, attorneys were required to certify that lawsuits were filed for proper purposes, supported by evidence, and grounded in the law. Courts were empowered to sanction lawyers who filed claims simply to harass, delay, or increase costs, including ordering them to pay the other side’s legal expenses.
These reforms helped change behavior. They discouraged abusive filings, improved predictability in the courts, and laid the foundation for the Texas Economic Miracle that followed. Businesses could invest with confidence. Insurers could price risk more accurately. Families benefited from lower costs passed through the system.
Today, as frivolous lawsuits and outsized verdicts begin creeping back into Texas courts, the lesson from 1995 is clear: disciplined legal reform works, but only when it is defended and updated. The fight that built Texas’s success is the same fight that protects affordability today.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform is committed to protecting fairness in our courts, curbing lawsuit abuse and building a civil justice system that empowers families and businesses.
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