Friends,
Over the past six months, I’ve been meeting with our stakeholders to get to know them, hear their stories about predatory billboard lawyers, and share my vision for what’s next for TLR. At the same time, we have welcomed thousands of Texans to our organization as we look to build on three decades of policy leadership in the Texas Capitol.
As we welcome new supporters and stoke the passions of longtime advocates, it’s a great time to revisit our core mission and values. As an organization, we have been clear about the goal from day one: Make Texas the best state to do business by reducing civil lawsuit abuse.
That means making it easier to start a business, grow your operations, or relocate from other states or nations. In the past 30 years, we’ve successfully helped build the Texas Economic Miracle, creating a new generation of prosperity for millions of Texas families.
As our state’s economy has changed, so have the challenges facing businesses. Because TLR’s foundational mission is secure, our goals remain the same while our aspirations grow to meet the needs of Texans today and in the future.
Whether you are a longtime supporter or a newcomer, I hope the information provided in this newsletter will give you a renewed understanding of what we do and why we fight so hard each year for more than 30 million Texans. Thank you for joining us in this cause.
For the future of Texas,
Ryan Patrick
CEO | TLR
TLR was created in 1994 by a coalition of Texas business leaders who organized to fight back against job-killing, abusive lawsuits. TLR was created at a time when Texas courts were a disaster for job creators who were being crushed by “JACKPOT JUSTICE.”
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Texas was labeled a judicial hellhole for rampant lawsuit abuse fueled by trial lawyers who controlled the courts and legislature. While the nation was surging ahead, Texas was being left behind.
TLR represents more than 16,000 individual supporters across Texas who serve more than 1,200 different trades, businesses, and professions that make up the Texas Economic Miracle. TLR is a statewide coalition of small business owners, ranchers, doctors, consumers, and employers of all sizes.
THE MISSION: Make Texas the best state to do business. That includes maintaining a fair and predictable civil justice system that keeps out bad actors and provides a venue for truly injured Texans to seek justice. A fair justice system encourages the quick and efficient resolution of disputes and is free of intimidation or extortion.
TLR made Texas the model for comprehensive lawsuit reforms that other states have followed. TLR has proposed common-sense reforms in every legislative session since its founding.
Since 1994, TLR has helped pass legislation to shut down abusive lawsuits that kill jobs and stifle opportunity for the next generation. From small steps to giant leaps, TLR has led the way since its inception.
We are doing things to attract businesses to Texas and allow existing businesses to flourish. Because if the tort system is unfair and unpredictable, it retards business development.
TLR is continuing the fight to stop lawsuit abuse, which harms businesses and individuals. From inflated medical damages to third-party lawsuit funding, TLR is leading the policy discussions in Austin to protect the Texas Economic Miracle.
Tort reform? Didn’t we fix that 20 or 30 years ago? The straight answer is yes, we have made a lot of progress since TLR was founded in 1994. But, at the same time, personal injury lawyers continue to find pressure points in the system that allow for continued abuse that hurts businesses and adds a hidden tort tax on Texans.
The clear sign that trial lawyers are increasing their efforts is the number of billboards popping up on the roadside. The American Tort Reform Association estimates that Billboard Lawyer advertising increased by 39% between 2020 and 2024, with $2.5 billion spent nationwide on advertising legal services across all platforms. That’s why advocacy organizations are cautioning people before you call that lawyer.
Why is that significant? Last week, advocates testifying on behalf of Texas businesses, builders, and other job creators testified in a Texas Senate hearing that the number of incidents is decreasing while the number and cost of lawsuits are increasing. Those lawsuits are driving up the costs for Texas families and businesses, who pay the price even when they aren’t the ones getting sued.
TLR is increasing its efforts in communities across the state and in policy discussions around the Capitol. As the new CEO of TLR, Ryan Patrick has met with hundreds of lawmakers, business owners, and everyday Texans to talk about how we can stop lawsuit abuse.
Lawmakers are meeting for interim hearings in Austin. TLR’s policy team is working with stakeholders to make sure lawmakers understand the problems with lawsuit abuse in Texas Courts, from inflated medical damages to the rising industry of foreign lawsuit funding.
TLR continues to build a coalition of job creators across the state to make sure this policy fight doesn’t go unanswered during the 2027 Regular Session of the 90th Texas Legislature. You can join our fight today:
