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A Voyage to AtlantaTrial News Online Steven Toole I have been a trial lawyer for 25 years. I have tried a large variety of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies, from dissolutions to real estate fraud and from timber trespass to personal injury. In all these years, despite my dedication to trial work and my membership in both ATLA and WSTLA, I never attended a national convention of lawyers. Well, this past summer, for the first time, I was in Atlanta, Georgia, wearing a badge reflecting that I was one of the 3,000 attorneys attending ATLA's Annual Convention. It was quite an experience and was actually two trips in one. Not only was I able to participate in the plentiful and diverse continuing legal education programs sponsored by ATLA and its many sections, network with trial attorneys from all over the county and listen to inspiring keynote speakers, but I was able to attend TLPJ's annual meeting and awards dinner. As an added bonus, I was able to share in the experience of my friend and long-time WSTLA stalwart and past-President, Paul Stritmatter, as he was inaugurated as the new president of TLPJ for the coming year. For those of you who are unaware, TLPJ stands for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, which is an incredibly worthy organization of not only highly successful, well-heeled trial attorneys, but also every day trial attorneys like most of you and me. It is interesting to note that the state of Washington has a very strong influence in this organization. In its 20 year history, which was being celebrated in Atlanta, Paul Stritmatter became the third attorney from Washington to serve as president of this national organization. The first two were WSTLA members Dan Sullivan and Mike Withey. What I learned in my journey into national lawyerdom was that ATLA is a caring organization, generous and genuinely interested in providing services to all plaintiffs' trial attorneys. I share the sentiments of ATLA's new president Mary Alexander. "We are the warriors who do battle on behalf of innocent people harmed by dangerous products, toxic drugs, assembly-line medicine, and other byproducts of corporate greed. Our courthouse foes--insurers, manufacturers, and other large corporations-- are armed with limitless resources," Alexander said in the August 2002 issue of Trial. My Atlanta experience reinforced in my mind that ATLA is an organization that is passionately concerned about access to justice, the right to trial by jury and equal protection under the law. Again, quoting from Mary Alexander in talking about ATLA, "we prevent wealthy corporate interests from turning 'justice for all' into 'justice for some.'" ATLA strives to accomplish these goals in a variety of ways. First and foremost, ATLA employs a top-notch lobbying team in Washington, D.C. ATLA serves as the eyes, ears and voice of all its members, their clients, consumers and injured people. ATLA's aim is to defeat tort reform legislation and support congressional leaders -- Democrats or Republicans - - who are concerned about equal access to justice and protecting the rights of injured citizens in America. I also learned that ATLA is extremely interested in education-both education of the American public and its members. ATLA strives to provide its members the maximum opportunities to become the best trial lawyers they can and to also be good caring citizens. In this last regard, ATLA's response to the 9-11 tragedy was an incredible effort demonstrating how trial lawyers do indeed care and continue to care. I mentioned that this journey to Atlanta was actually two trips in one. In addition to what I learned about ATLA, there is also what I learned about TLPJ. If ATLA is the national lobbyist and educator of the trial bar, TLPJ is its conscience. This group focuses exclusively on bringing the kind of imaginative, public interest, cutting edge litigation that makes us all proud to be trial lawyers. These are cases that demand an enormous amount of resources, for which the attorneys volunteer their time. They are brought for the advancement of law and to protect the rights of injured citizens and consumers. Through the efforts of TLPJ, many powerful interests are held accountable for their actions. Not all cases brought by TLPJ are personal injury cases. TLPJ has taken on environmental abuses, consumer rights, civil rights and access to justice, to name a few. Their work is in alignment with WSTLA's mission statement and it is an organization that is truly worthy of support from WSTLA's members. In addition to taking on trial cases, TLPJ also provides very high-quality briefing for appellate issues of concern to injured people, consumers and the public. During this coming year, TLPJ will be either lead counsel or provide AMICUS briefs in approximately 6 cases that will be argued before the U. S. Supreme Court. These include a federal pre-emption case, the IOLTA case and the Guzman case. In the Guzman case, the Washington State Supreme Court found an act of Congress unconstitutional because it prohibited the discovery of data collected by governmental entities. TLPJ also monitors proposed changes to the Federal Rules. They have become the last voice of the trial bar in providing detailed reports and testimony to the various committees dealing with these issues and have blocked a number of onerous proposals that have been proposed by the insurance industry. They are constantly fighting to preserve the tort system of the individual states. So why am I talking about ATLA and TLPJ? I submit that these two organizations are critical to the success of WSTLA and what we stand for. They are critical to our success in taking on corporate greed, government abuses and insurance over-reaching. We cannot fight this battle alone in our own little Northwest corner of America. As has been seen this past year under the Bush Administration and the efforts in Washington, D.C. to pass federal legislation affecting the tort system in the individual states, we need to take this battle to the streets, so to speak, all across the country. We can not let an adverse administration in Washington, D.C. pass federal laws that stomp on state's rights and will destroy our civil justice system and access to justice for all. Supporting ATLA and TLPJ is more than just beneficial to our clients and to WSTLA. Supporting these two organizations is vital to our collective and individual consciences. Supporting these two organizations is the essence of who we are or should be as trial lawyers and caring, concerned human beings. Supporting these two organizations is what we must do--it is the right thing. I urge those of you who are not members of both these organizations, to become so--immediately. Join both ATLA and TLPJ today. Regarding TLPJ, not only can you contribute your dues, but you can volunteer to assist in any one of these major cutting edge cases that they are taking on. If you are not of the skill and experience level to serve as lead counsel in these often complex cases, do not despair. There are a myriad of support roles that you can play serving on the trial team. For those who don't have the time for that, your financial support through your annual dues will help fund this organization so that others can bring on these cases. Of approximately 3,600 WSTLA members, only 764 also belong to ATLA and about 120 to TLPJ. We need to change this. If you want to join these two organizations, I would suggest you take a look at their websites: atla.org and tlpj.org We are in a fight for the lives of our clients and other injured people and consumers, as well as our entire civil justice system. We need to utilize all the resources available to us, which include both ATLA and TLPJ. Steven G. Toole, WSTLA EAGLE member, is with the Law Office of Steven G. Toole, P.S. in Bellevue, Washington. Mr. Toole is President of the WSTLA Board of Governors. Trial News Online, © 2003 Washington State Trial Lawyers Association |
