70 to 80% of Jurors Significantly Distrust Big Corporations - Ouch!

Amidst a long law.com article on tobacco litigation in 2002, is tucked this quote:

I think 2002 is the beginning of a pendulum swing back toward jurors favoring plaintiffs in these cases, says Art Patterson, senior vice president at Bowne DecisionQuest, the jury consultants. "There was a period where it was swinging more toward individual responsibility," but Enron and the other corporate scandals have influenced juror attitudes, says Patterson, whose firm consults for tobacco companies. "While in the past a majority of jurors held attitudes of distrust of big corporations," he says, "we are now finding 70 percent and 80 percent of jurors endorsing attitudes of significant distrust."

Employers and their counsel facing a jury panel in the near future, take heed.