A non-partisan watchdog
over the courts.
Join MiLAW in fighting for fairness in the courts
Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch was created in 1997 to serve as a non-partisan watchdog over the courts and personal injury lawyers.
Using a broad-based public education campaign, it exposed the high cost that lawsuit abuse piles on families, job providers and communities. We produced one of the first judicial scorecards of a state supreme court in the nation, revealed how much money trial lawyers were pouring into the campaigns of justices on the Michigan Supreme Court, spoke to civic groups throughout Michigan, and created a popular project that received worldwide media coverage: the annual Wacky Warning Label Contest.
By organizing a unique coalition of consumers, businesses, professionals, community leaders, entrepreneurs and others, we worked to end the lawsuit lottery. Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch became known throughout the United States for effective programs and non-partisan information, and over the years, the number of lawsuits dropped significantly – by as much as one-third!
By 2013, significant progress had been made in restoring fairness and personal responsibility to the justice system, so Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch disbanded.
Unfortunately, in recent years, Michigan’s lawsuit climate has taken a disturbing turn for the worse. In 2019, a survey conducted by the Harris Poll and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform determined that Michigan now ranks in the bottom half of all the states when it comes to providing its citizens with a fair and reasonable legal system, right down there with states like California and Mississippi.
We can’t let Michigan slide back anymore. It’s time to bring back Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch to serve as a watchdog again. This time, we will be known as MiLAW for short (pronounced MyLaw) to emphasize the personal stake each Michigan resident has in eliminating lawsuit abuse. Stay tuned for more in the weeks and months ahead.
Bob Dorigo Jones talks about the high cost of lawsuit abuse with nationally syndicated radio host, Dana Loesch.
The MiLAW Board of Directors
Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch is led by citizens who are committed to eliminating frivolous lawsuits and making sure time-honored values like personal responsibility and fairness are the guiding principles of Michigan’s courts. They are dedicated to fixing Michigan’s civil justice system to ensure equal justice and promote economic opportunity for our families, communities and job providers.
Our board of directors consists of:
William Brennan, chairman of MiLAW; retired Vice President and General Counsel, Bissell Inc.
Karla Chamberlain, Michigan Princess Riverboat and Detroit Princess Riverboat
Robert Dorigo Jones, president of MiLAW and best-selling author
Andre LaMonde, retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent
Michael J. Reitz, vice-chair of MiLAW: Executive Vice President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Former members of the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch board of directors:
William Allen, former Dean, James Madison College at Michigan State University
Betty Jean Awrey, former Vice President, Awrey Bakeries, Inc., “America’s Hometown Bakery”
Tommy Brann, President, Brann’s Steakhouses
John Beck, Uncle John’s Cider Mill
Agostinho Fernandes, Jr., former President, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Metro Detroit
David A. Herz, M.D., Director of Neuroscience, St. Mary's Hospital, Grand Rapids
Albert Koegel, Koegel Meats, Inc., home of the famous Koegel hot dog
Bill Laimbeer, former NBA All-Star and CEO, Laimbeer Packaging
Angelo Lanni, President, Florence Cement Company
Edward A. Loniewski, D.O., Past President, Michigan Osteopathic Association and American Osteopathic Association
Michael Sandler, M.D., former chairman, Michigan State Medical Society
Mary Ellen Sheets, Founder, Two Men and A Truck, the 4th largest residential mover in the U.S.
Bill Shepler, Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry Service
Reid Thebault, retired President and CEO, YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit
Beth Thieme, CEO, Amigo Mobility International (a family-owned manufacturer of three-wheel wheelchair substitutes)
Ted Wahby, former Macomb County Treasurer
Bob Dorigo Jones
Bob Dorigo Jones is a best-selling author and president of Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (MiLAW), a non-partisan consumer watchdog group.
As president of MiLAW, Bob has led a public education campaign to increase awareness of how Americans are being burdened by living in the most lawsuit-happy society on earth.
He has spoken to groups throughout the United States about how common sense and reliability can be restored to the law.
Bob is not a lawyer, and he is working to cut through the legal “mumbo jumbo” many Americans associate with legal issues and legal reform. He developed popular projects like the annual Wacky Warning Label Contest to focus attention on the need for more personal responsibility in the court system.
Between 2010 and 2020, Bob wrote and hosted a weekly radio commentary called, “Let’s Be Fair!,” that was broadcast on more than 1,000 radio stations across America. “Let’s Be Fair!” presented, in Paul Harvey-type stories, evidence of how crazy lawsuits and a litigation-happy culture have affected our communities and families.
Bob has appeared on dozens of national and international TV and radio programs, including NBC Nightly News, ABC News’ 20/20, BBC WorldNews, and FOX News. His book Remove Child Before Folding, The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, and Newsmax.
Prior to joining M-LAW, Bob worked for ten years on the staff of the Speaker of the House in the Michigan legislature. He received a B.A. degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
Bob and his wife of 35 years, Denise, have two grown children. When not combing through the pages of obscure legal publications, Bob enjoys biking, golf, ping pong, working in the yard, and sampling the hot dogs offered at 21 Major and Minor League Baseball parks across the country to date.
