Founded in 1994, West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (WV CALA) is entering its 18th year as West Virginia's only organization focused exclusively on legal reform. WV CALA is a 501(c)(6) non-profit, non-partisan citizen watchdog group committed to equal justice for all West Virginians, with more than 30,000 members located in all 55 counties of the state. WV CALA helps educate the public of the role that our legal system plays in our daily lives. Lawsuit abuse increases the cost of consumer goods for all West Virginians, and discourages job providers from bringing good-paying jobs to our state. West Virginia’s unfair legal system is constantly cited as one of the primary reasons job providers consider our state “closed for business.” The goals of WV CALA include: To provide a direct and objective source of information on our state’s courts and their decisions. To improve the judicial system by educating the public about the influence of special interest money and its effect on the judicial election process and our legal system. To educate citizens about our legal system’s effect on the quality of life for West Virginians, especially in terms of job impacts, taxes and healthcare. To restore public confidence and trust in the independence and integrity of our court system and our judges. To encourage the public to help ensure that our legal system is fair and accessible for every single West Virginian.