Illinois Bill Could Tighten Expert Witness Rules

Bills seeking to reform expert witness standards and prevent “venue shopping” will be heard today at a joint hearing of the Illinois General Assembly’s Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The expert witness bill would align Illinois’ expert witness qualifications with those used in the federal court systems. These rules are tighter than those the state currently applies.

Under the venue reform bill, plaintiffs would no longer be able to sue companies that do business in a county but who don’t have an office there. If the bill passed out of committee as is and became law, plaintiffs would no longer be able to sue a company in Illinois unless at least one defendant has an office or headquarters in that county. “If we are going to attract new jobs and opportunities, then we need to make reforming our legal system a priority,” said Travis Akin, executive director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch. “It is time we put the brakes on out-of-state personal injury lawyers from targeting Illinois as a great place to file their junk lawsuits.”

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