The American Tort Reform Association reported on March 16 that plaintiffs’ attorneys in New York spent nearly 179 million dollars on local legal service advertisements in 2025, reflecting an 84 percent increase since 2023. The organization linked this surge to rising insurance fraud and referenced Governor Hochul’s proposals aimed at addressing affordability through anti-fraud and litigation reforms.
The association said the increased advertising is connected to broader challenges within the state’s insurance and civil justice systems. According to a press release from the American Tort Reform Association, its new report analyzed local legal services advertising across New York’s media markets using data from 2025 and compared spending levels to previous periods. The release discusses how these advertising trends relate to ongoing issues in the state’s insurance sector and civil justice system according to the American Tort Reform Association.
New Yorkers pay the second-highest tort tax in the nation at $2,684 per person annually due to excessive litigation, according to a Perryman Group report. This figure represents a 43 percent increase since 2022. The state’s civil justice system has been ranked by the American Tort Reform Association as one of the nation’s worst Judicial Hellholes, largely due to rampant fraud that distorts outcomes for consumers and businesses, according to data and analysis including a Perryman Group report.
Nationally, an estimated four billion dollars was spent on more than thirty million legal services ads across television, radio, print, digital, and outdoor platforms in 2025. This spending level marked an increase of approximately forty-four percent compared to 2024. The growth in advertising has been driven by efforts to recruit clients for personal injury claims across the country according to the American Tort Reform Association.
The American Tort Reform Association works to promote fair civil justice laws that benefit consumers and businesses. Established in 1986, it advocates for reforms that curb lawsuit abuse and reduce economic burdens imposed by excessive litigation. The organization has long highlighted the impact of trial lawyer advertising on the legal system and insurance costs for families according to the American Tort Reform Association.
