Washington Update August 2025

Congress’s annual recess in August is a welcome relief. For the first seven months of 2025, AAJ worked intensely to defend civil justice on Capitol Hill, in the nation’s courts, regulatory agencies, and the court of public opinion.
 
A review of federal lobbying spending in the first half of the year shows that our primary opponent, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spent $39 million compared to AAJ’s $3 million. While we are outspent, we are never outmaneuvered.
 
As one insurance and risk management law professor noted in an insurance publication, the plaintiff bar is:
 
"[T]he best organized, best funded and best politically connected special interest group in America, bar none."
 
AAJ is committed to protecting lawyers’ practices and clients’ rights, and we will continue to prevail because we have the truth on our side.
 
Leading up to the August recess, AAJ successfully stopped harmful language from being added to three appropriations bills that the Senate passed. However, many appropriations bills are still in progress. AAJ will be ready when Congress reconvenes and legislative action resumes in September.
 
Regulatory News
On July 29, AAJ filed comments with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which has proposed a rule for the "Modification to the Definition of the Term ‘Medical Treatment.’"
 
AAJ urged the FMCSA to reject this proposed change entirely as it does nothing to improve safety. AAJ’s comments stated that the new rule would "…solely benefit the trucking industry by reducing the number of collisions that would qualify as reportable, even though actual collisions would not be reduced."
 
If the FCMSA approves this rule, a person could seek and receive medical care following a collision with a commercial vehicle, and the collision would not be considered reportable under current guidance. You can access AAJ’s and other filed comments on the FCMSA docket.
 
Legal Affairs: Amicus Curiae Update
During AAJ’s fiscal year, August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, AAJ filed 32 briefs—a record high. These briefs addressed a broad range of legal issues and practice areas, and were filed in 19 different jurisdictions, primarily in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts of appeals, and in state supreme courts. Filed briefs are available on AAJ’s website.
 
The briefs addressed access-to-justice issues in several different areas, including admiralty jurisdiction, bankruptcy abuse, right to trial by jury, statutes of limitation, civil RICO, class actions, federal preemption, forced arbitration, noneconomic damage caps, piercing the corporate veil, pleading standards, products liability, qui tam, securities, and sovereign immunity.
 
Of the 32 briefs filed, half were filed jointly with 20 different co-amici, including state trial lawyer associations and pro-consumer organizations
 
As of July 15, courts issued final opinions in 11 cases in which AAJ filed amicus briefs in Fiscal Year 2025. Of those dispositions, 8 were favorable to plaintiffs, representing a nearly 73% success rate.
 
Legal Affairs: Federal Rules Update
A busy public comment period begins this month with five proposed civil rules amendments and two proposed evidence amendments under consideration by the Committee on Practice and Procedure, which oversees changes to the federal rules. The comment period is six months long, starting in mid-August, with exact dates determined when the rules are published for public comment.
 
The comment period will include two public hearings (virtual) on the civil procedure rules and two hearings on the evidence rules, to be held in January 2026. A summary of the rules is listed below. AAJ will provide more information on its website after the rules are officially released.
 
Civil Procedure

FRCP 41(a) – Voluntary Dismissals. This proposed amendment clarifies that a plaintiff may dismiss an action, claim, or claims, and only current parties to the litigation must stipulate to the dismissal.
 
FRCP 45(b) – Service of Subpoena. This proposed amendment would make it easier to serve a subpoena, providing for a number of acceptable methods.
 
FRCP 45(c) & 26(a) – Subpoena for Remote Testimony. This proposed amendment corrects In Re Kirkland, 75 F.4th 1030 (9th Cir. 2023) in which the Ninth Circuit determined that it did not have the authority to command witnesses to provide remote trial testimony because the witnesses are not within the "subpoena power" of the presiding court.
 
FRCP 81(c) – Demand for Jury Trial. This proposed amendment corrects uncertainty about whether and when to demand a jury trial after removal. In some states, there is no requirement to demand a jury trial and other states have a later jury demand than the federal rule. The proposed amendment makes the timing clear to demand a jury trial.
 
Evidence
 
NEW FRE 707 – Machine-Generated Evidence: This new amendment applies the same reliability standards required of expert testimony under  FRE 702 to machine-generated evidence that is offered by lay witnesses or to lay a foundation.
 
FRE 609 – Impeachment by Criminal Conviction. The amendment would require the probative value of prior convictions under 609(a) to substantially outweigh their prejudicial effect. The purpose of the amendment is to provide more protection to criminal defendants so that they are not unduly deterred from testifying.
 
Press Releases and Statements
I invite you to keep up with AAJ on social media and check our Press Center for our latest statements and press releases. Recently, we featured our annual awards recipients, including the AAJ members of the court-appointed Plaintiffs' Counsel for the Champlain Towers South Condominium Collapse of 2021, who received the 2025 Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award.
 
AAJ created a video featuring the lawyers’ year-long effort to help families following one of the deadliest structural failures in U.S. history. Other videos on issues directly impacting consumers and clients can be found by following our online grassroots campaign, Take Justice Back.
 
Now’s the time to stay engaged. Working together to preserve the rule of law and expand awareness about trial lawyers’ work on behalf of injured workers, patients, and consumers has never been more important. Your involvement makes AAJ and trial lawyer associations nationwide a connected, valuable community and resource for trial lawyers. Thank you for all you do.
 
If you have questions or feedback,  please contact me.

CONTACT AAJ Advocacy Email: advocacy@justice.org