Engineering Inc. - March/April 2005 - (Page 2)

F R O M ACEC I T O YOU ENGINEERING NC. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES Frivolous Lawsuits Become CHAIRMAN William S. Howard Top ACEC Priority PRESIDENT David A. Raymond VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Mar y Ann Emely DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS and MEDIA Alan D. Crockett A primary focus of ACEC's legislative efforts with the new 109th Congress is STAFF EDITOR Andrea Keeney passage of substantial tort reform legislation. akeeney@acec.org ACEC seeks reform of the legal system in order to reduce the number of frivolous 202 682-4347 lawsuits that are filed each year against engineering firms and other businesses. ACEC EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Lawsuit abuse and runaway liability awards force good services off the market, stifle William Howard, Camp Dresser & McKee, Edison, N.J.; innovation, and hamper the engineer's ability to compete in the marketplace. Gar y Link , HNTB, Kansas City, Mo.; Judith Nitsch, Top tort reform priorities in the Judith Nitsch Engineering, Inc., Boston; new Congress are class action reform, David A. Raymond, ACEC, Washington, D.C. asbestos litigation and medical liabil- ACEC STAFF EDITORIAL TEAM Ed Bajer, Jeff Beard, Ann Brandstadter, Steve Hall, Charles C. ity reform. ACEC and other business Kim, Deirdre McKenna groups also are seeking Good Samar- itan protections, reasonable caps on THE MAGAZINE GROUP l i a b i l i t y, Certificate of Merit, and MANAGING EDITOR joint and several liability reforms. Richard Brunelli We are working closely with the ART DIRECTOR American Tort Reform Association Jeff Kibler ATRA , which ACEC helped estab- PRODUCTION MANAGER lish, supporters on Capitol Hill, and Mar y Mieszczanski the administration. This issue of Engineering Inc. fea- FORREST MacCORMACK ADVERTISING SALES t u r e s an in-depth interview with Diana Dodge Smith House Judiciary Chairman F. James Director of Sales & Advertising S e n s e n b r e n n e r, Jr. R-Wis. , who ACEC 1015 15th Street NW, 8th Floor believes the opportunity to pass liabil- Washington, DC 20005-2605 ity reform legislation with the new 202-347-7474 Congress is greater now than in the past. The interview is accompanied by a spe- dsmith@acec.org cial report on how tort reform effects the engineering industry. Also in this issue is a roundtable discussion with some of the nation's top pub- Engineering Inc., Volume 16, Number 1 ISSN 1539-2694 , is published bi-monthly lic works officials, along with ACEC members, on the challenges of meeting the by the American Council of Engineering Companies ACEC , 1015 15th Street NW, nation's demand for clean water. 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscriptions are $24 for members included in dues ; $45 for U.S. non-members; $65 for institutional subscriptions. Back issues are $15. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Engineering Inc., c/o ACEC, 1015 15th Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605. William S. Howard David A. Raymond ACEC Chairman ACEC President

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - March/April 2005

Table of Contents
From ACEC To You
Ask Members
News & Notes
Market Watch
Legislative Action
COVER STORY: A Perfect Legal Storm
Interview With F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Is There an Engineer in the House
The ABCs Of ESOPS
ACEC/PAC Donations Break All-Time Record
ACEC Roundtable
Members In the News
One on One

Engineering Inc. - March/April 2005