Mr. Greenberg said also that combating tort-reform opponents is "like fighting the war on terrorists," and he condemned plaintiff lawyers' practice of venue shopping to find favorable jurisdictions where juries and judges provide massive awards.

Defendants in such situations "get raped" by the legal process, he remarked. "I call the plaintiff's bar terrorists," Mr. Greenberg said at the luncheon, according to Ms. Rice. AIG declined to comment or elaborate on Mr. Greenberg's remarks.

In their open letter to Mr. Greenberg, the Association of Trial Lawyers stated, "As the CEO of AIG, one of the largest insurance conglomerates in the world, you have a reputation for colorful outspokenness, but your condemnation of trial lawyers as ?terrorists' steps over the line. Way over the line.

"You owe an apology to the American people, as well as to trial lawyers, for trivializing the assaults on our society Sept. 11, 2001. It was an attack on our way of life, including on our constitutionally guaranteed legal system and right to trial by jury, which are the envy of every other country in the world."

The group also told Mr. Greenberg in its letter that "while you and your corporate allies have been spending and lobbying relentlessly to undermine the fairest legal system in the world and take away the legal rights of American families in the name of so-called 'tort reform,' trial lawyers have put their time, their talents and their experience on the line to help the victims of the real terrorists?all for free.

"Our work with these wonderful families has been a profoundly humbling and gratifying experience for all of us?the best way that we, as lawyers, could help our nation heal the wounds from that terrible day and help the victims of the terrorists who attacked America on September 11th. And now you label us 'terrorists.' For shame, Mr. Greenberg," the group said.

Dennis Archer, president of the American Bar Association, the largest group of lawyers in the country, also blasted Mr. Greenberg's comments: "Suggesting any similarity between lawyers?any lawyers?and terrorists demonstrates an appalling lack of appreciation for the role of law and lawyers in our society," Mr. Archer said.

He added: "Maurice Greenberg's statements show a shameful disregard for the harm suffered by victims of genuine terrorism. They also demonstrate the disregard and denial of responsibility that is sometimes apparent in defendants of class action litigation, and that forces the victims of negligence or other kinds of wrongdoing to resort to the courts."

To deny the legitimacy of millions of people who rely on the courts for compensation for real injuries, and to label their advocates as akin to terrorists, "is irresponsible in the extreme," Mr. Archer said.