It comes with an interactive map confirming in mouseover format the low regard in which surveyed corporate counsel hold the legal systems of West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and California, to name the bottom five (press kit, press release). The Chamber has also launched an ad campaign. It's getting a fair bit of coverage in the states deemed worst, especially California (Jan Norman/Orange County Register, Sacramento Bee, Civil Justice Association of California) and Louisiana (Times-Picayune, Baton Rouge Advocate), as well as a bit of crowing in the states that did best (Newark, Del. Post). Notes the Times-Picayune: "This year's survey is the Chamber's eighth ranking of the states' lawsuit climates since 2002. Louisiana has never been ranked above 47." Besides Delaware, the rest of the top ten states included North Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, and South Dakota. National Law Journal:

While Illinois barely missed the bottom five, coming in at number 45 out of 50, it did earn its own dubious honor: Cook County, home to the city of Chicago, was voted the city or county with the least reasonable litigation environment, earning nods from 14 percent of survey participants. It was trailed by Los Angeles, which was mentioned by 12 percent of respondents.

New York came in at #23 in the survey, Connecticut at #24, and New Jersey at a distinctly unimpressive #32. More: Daniel Fisher/Forbes, Tampa Tribune, Variety.