Message from the Chairs

We want to thank the Members of the Trial Practice Committee for making us the fastest growing and most exciting Committee in the ABA Section on Litigation.  On February 16, 2008, we convened for our first-ever Mid-Year Meeting, in Scottsdale, Arizona – and enjoyed several wonderful days of planning, legal education, and fellowship!

At the Mid-Year Meeting, we agreed to expand our program offerings; to bring more positive changes and case alerts to our Website; and to greatly expand the activity, quantity, and diversity of our Membership; to publish a book on jury trial issues; and to have annual Mid-Year Meetings.

We also agreed to explore the spiritual side of law – what we call our “Lawyer as Counselor” role.  Part of the job of a great trial lawyer is to counsel clients in a wide variety of areas.  We will be assisting our Membership in this capacity, as well as discussing the spiritual needs of our members in today’s high-stress and challenging environment.

We are presenting three programs at the Section of Litigation Annual Conference in Washington D.C. on April 17-19, 2008.  In addition, we are planning a substantive business breakfast meeting – with a speaker – and a Committee Dinner.

Similarly, we have three programs scheduled for the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City, on August 7-9, 2008, including a Presidential Showcase and an operatic drama featuring the trial of Don Giovanni!

We are currently looking for program ideas to be presented at our next Mid-Year Meeting, scheduled for February 12-15, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. We would also welcome high quality submissions for our Journal, Website, and Book Publishing Board.

Thanks to our Journal Co-Chairs, we will be seeing some exciting improvements in the Verdict.  We are moving to a new format – with a color masthead, a crisp layout, and illustrations!  Please stay tuned for exciting developments.

We really appreciate the tremendous amount of energy that has come out of our group.  All of this energy is being directly channeled back to improving our lives as trial lawyers – and improving our honored profession.

Victor A. Bolden
David Soley
Lawrence D. Rosenberg

Co-Chairs, Trial Practice Committee