Fostering certainty and predictability in NC’s legal system
We know that North Carolina must improve its legal climate in order to attract and retain investment. That’s why the NC Chamber advocates for policies that will foster certainty and predictability in our legal system, providing job creators the transparency and clarity they need to do business.
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The Challenge
While North Carolina once had a top-10 legal climate, we have now fallen to 16th. This erosion is attributed to erratic court decisions, shifts in the courts, changes in policy and the growing influence of personal injury attorneys in our state government.
The Solution
North Carolina’s competitive standing in the modern global economy hinges on the strength of the state’s legal climate. To restore confidence in the state’s civil justice system, the NC Chamber established the NC Chamber Legal Institute. As North Carolina’s organized voice for legal policy development and analysis, the NC Chamber Legal Institute is charged with developing legal strategies to protect North Carolina businesses at the legislature and in the courts.
Learn more about the NC Chamber Legal Institute
In addition to these efforts, the NC Chamber Government Affairs team advocates for a jobs agenda that will continue to keep NC first in business. Recent wins include:
- 2020: COVID-19 Recovery Act provided certain classes of employers, primarily those deemed as “essential businesses,” with an appropriate degree of protection from unwarranted claims of COVID-19 transmission in their workplaces.
- 2020: House Bill 118, secured with NC Chamber support, strengthened COVID-19 liability protections for employers. This was among the earliest such measures enacted nationwide which earned North Carolina recognition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform as a national leader in protecting job creators from unwarranted COVID-related litigation.
- 2021: House Joint Resolution 582 confirmed four capable, experienced individuals as Special Superior Court judges on the North Carolina Business Court, promoting balance on this important arbiter of complex legal questions impacting the state’s business climate.
The Agenda
- View our 2023 Legislative Agenda to learn how the NC Chamber will continue to protect a business-friendly tort climate that will keep North Carolina first in business.
- Learn how the NC Chamber nurtured legal predictability and protected and advanced a competitive, balanced tort climate for NC job creators in the 2021-2022 edition of How They Voted.