(FORTUNE Magazine) – One thing Bill Clinton and Bob Dole agree on is that California voters should vote no on Proposition 211 this November. If it gets approved, Prop. 211 would essentially make it easier to file so-called nuisance shareholder lawsuits in California. Perhaps more significantly, the measure would also make the personal assets of company officers and directors fair game in such lawsuits.

The fight over the proposition promises to be every bit as intense as the general election. On one side is a coalition of consumer groups and specialized trial lawyers headed by William Lerach (of the San Diego law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach), who have built an extremely profitable business representing irate shareholders who seek judicial redress for poor stock performance. On the other side is approximately all of Silicon Valley. Why? The volatile earnings that are typical for high-tech companies mark them as easy prey for strike-suit enthusiasts and the litigators who love them.

--Lenore Schiff