Beasley Allen Applauds Congressional Efforts to End Forced Arbitration for Sexual Assault, Harassment Survivors

The firm has staunchly opposed forced arbitration and has been at the forefront of protecting plaintiffs’ rights and access to the country’s civil justice system for decades.

Beasley Allen Law Firm, a longtime staunch opponent of forced arbitration, has been at the forefront of fighting these tactics and other efforts to suppress plaintiffs’ access and rights through the U.S. civil justice system. The firm applauds the Senate passage of S.2342 and House passage of its companion H.R. 4445 – restoring access to justice to survivors of sexual assault and harassment.

The legislation will reinstitute the right of survivors to hold their attacker and the huge corporations they hide behind accountable in court.

“This legislation gives survivors their voice back and is long overdue,” said Beasley Allen founder Jere Beasley. “Forced arbitration is one of the many ills devised by those who wish to silence victims of wrongdoing, limit their access to justice and secretly hide the deplorable behavior of wrongdoers behind the closed doors of arbitration. Folks have arbitration forced on them in their consumer and employment contracts and most never know it until they have a claim.”

Beasley Allen has fought to protect plaintiffs’ access to justice for decades. Its work on behalf of plaintiffs’ has been critical to improving health and safety and holding bad corporate actors accountable. Hard-won victories on behalf of consumers and workers have successfully removed defective products from the stream of commerce; uncovered false and deceptive marketing schemes and other fraudulent activities; exposed ruthless employers willing to jeopardize worker health and safety to increase profits. The firm has also represented whistleblowers who were retaliated against for reporting corruption and fraud and who assisted the federal government in recovering taxpayer dollars.

“Wrongdoers do not want to be held accountable. Arbitration is a product of tort reform, nothing more than a propaganda campaign by those who want to evade justice and something that has operated in the shadows for decades. Corporations masterminded it to protect their bottom line – many of the very companies that stand to lose the most because of their disregard for the health and safety of consumers and workers.”

Jere Beasley

While the firm worked with others, including the American Association for Justice (AAJ), mandatory binding arbitration made its way into nearly every conceivable contract in the country, including employment contracts. Arbitration provisions in employment contracts have stripped employees of their right to a trial by jury to hear their claims against their employers, including those involving sexual assault and harassment.

“The AAJ is an organization that advocates for access to justice and works to preserve the rights given by the 7th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which are constantly under siege,” said Beasley Allen’s Navan Ward, who is also president of the American Association for Justice.” I’m proud of our firm’s work to preserve the right to trial by jury and, therefore, access to justice. I’m equally pleased to be part of an organization that has worked tirelessly also to defend this right.”

Even as early as the 1980s, the firm’s office building was known as “The Tort Fort” by those seeking to reclaim the judicial advantage over the so-called “little man.” They began pushing back and waging a public opinion war on trial lawyers like those at Beasley Allen. Still, Beasley and his firm remain committed to ensuring access to justice and seeking to hold wrongdoers accountable.