Cathy, did our firm join the Georgia Chamber of Commerce this year did it? Whew. Thanks.

Our firm has represented the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce for many years. I am a big supporter of our local Chamber as anyone in Douglas and Coffee County will attest.

The last couple of years we have gotten a good bit of pressure by a client to join the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. This pressure had no connection whatsoever with our local Chamber; this person just thought it was a good idea, and I would have had the dues not been a bit steep for a four-man law firm -- $500 I seem to recall.

Am I relieved we didn't join. Why you ask? Go read a 9-13-04 article in the L.A. Times. Excerpts:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring a $10-million advertising campaign to "educate voters about the devastating impact" [a group of people is] having on the American way of life.

The target of these attacks is not Al Qaeda or some new pestilence sweeping the nation. It's trial lawyers.

These days, the people who bring personal injury lawsuits against corporations, insurers and healthcare providers have replaced "union bosses" as the group that corporate America identifies as its key public enemy. And this year, more than ever before, the war of words between corporate leaders and trial lawyers echoes in the battle for the White House.