Manufacturing Law Center

The Manufacturing Law Center champions the interests of manufacturers in cases before the Supreme Court and federal and state courts of appeal. We monitor legal trends and developments affecting the ability of manufacturers to be treated fairly by the legal system and promote a fair and balanced approach for resolving disputes. With manufacturers facing legal costs of some $865 billion annually, these efforts have a direct effect on the competitive position of American manufacturers. The NAM files an average of 44 briefs each year and does not solicit contributions from parties to a lawsuit to pay for any work we might do in that lawsuit. Instead, we rely on contributions from other companies, since many of them have faced or will have to face similar issues in the future.

Traditionally, our amicus and first-party litigation efforts have focused on a wide variety of issue areas, such as product liability, OSHA, taxation of interstate commerce, employment and benefits law, and civil procedure. Over the past 10 years, we have been a leading advocate to keep Alien Torte Statute suits within proper bounds, filing briefs in seven major cases involving issues of corporate liability, aiding and abetting, and the role of the courts in this area.

Recently, the focus has shifted dramatically to EPA regulation. Much of our efforts involve our work to push back on litigation and regulation that stretches legal theories and agency authority beyond their limits. For example, we have filed a substantial number of first-party lawsuits against the EPA, and regularly file amicus briefs in the highest federal and state courts. We lead multi-industry coalitions in numerous cases challenging EPA regulation of greenhouse gases and ozone, and fight to defend against a constant barrage of suits by environmental groups in cases involving public trust and public nuisance, challenges during (and after) the EPA permitting process, and state environmental implementation plans, to name a few.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons recently met with some of the key lawyers that work with the Manufacturing Law Center on cases of importance to manufacturers.  Seated are Richard Faulk of Gardere Wynne Sewell, Richard Samp of the Washington Legal Foundation, and Tim Webster of Sidley Austin.  Standing: Jay Timmons, Greg Garre of Latham & Watkins, Cary Silverman of Shook Hardy & Bacon, Beth Milito of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Rae T. Vann of Norris, Tysse, Lampley & Lakis, and Quentin Riegel, vice president of litigation for the NAM.