Message from the Chair | Leadership | CLE | Newsletters | Publications | 2008/2009 Annual Report

Deborah Prosser
Letter from the Chair

Welcome to the Toxic Tort & Environmental Law Committee ("TTEL") of the TIPS Section of the American Bar Association. We hope that you will find this site informative and useful.

TTEL has played a prominent role in TIPS for many years. In 2005, TTEL was honored as the first recipient of the annual TIPS General Committee Award for Excellence in Overall Membership Involvement. In 2006, and 2007 and again in 2009, TTEL was recognized by TIPS with the Overall Membership Involvement Award.

We are very proud of our Committee's success. A number of the past Chairs from our Committee have gone on to become Chairs of TIPS and many others continue to play prominent leadership roles in TIPS. Our strong line of Committee Chairs is exemplified by our most recent past Chairs. With superb leadership, Christopher Marks, at Williams Kastner in Seattle, our immediate past Chair, broke new ground for our Committee's CLE programs and publications and increased membership involvement - during a year where so many law firms had to curtail involvement in professional organizations due to the economic downturn.

Prior to Chris, Richard Green, Senior Trial Attorney of the United States Navy (Chair 2007-2008) guided the implementation of our Strategic Plan and tirelessly promoted TTEL. In addition, we are proud to have a very strong group of more than 20 committed Vice Chairs who come from all corners of the United States as well as Canada, all of whom are serving in leadership roles in our Subcommittees for our CLE programs, newsletters, annual and quarterly publications, and web site.

We are particularly proud that numerous graduates of the TIPS Leadership program and the Young Lawyers Division of TIPS have joined our Committee, and have quickly risen to leadership positions. We also have more than 1500 current attorney and law student members who have joined our Committee, many of whom attend our events.

Our Committee is composed of a dynamic group of talented lawyers whose practices involve the cutting edge of toxic tort and environmental law. This allows us to be creative in our programming and to address issues on the forefront of science and law. The range of topics we tackled last year was impressive - siting environmental projects on Indian land, Daubert hearing on asbestos friction products, mock jury trial before a federal judge on a fictional toxic tort case involving the chemical known as "kryptonite" using experts and attorney members of the Committee, the defense and prosecution of claims for signature diseases, new developments in nanotechnology, ethical issues of genetic testing, and Canadian and Mexican cross border litigation with the United States - to name but a few. For toxic tort and environmental law practitioners whose practices spans a wide range of issues and chemicals, our Committee serves as an important resource for professional development and networking.

This year (2009-2010), our goal is to build on this momentum by increasing the pace and the quality of our CLE programming and professional publications. We urge all ABA members to get involved. We are also undertaking new challenges this year, so please mark your calendars for our biggest events:

Annual Spring Conference at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix (April 9-10, 2010). We consider this to be our "showcase" program and next year's program is no exception. The program has already been approved by TIPS and will include a broad range of most interesting topics: globalization of products liability (litigating foreign made products in the US), wind energy litigation, class action ethics featuring the federal judge who is presiding over the DuPont class action, public nuisance, and hot topics in environmental law. In addition to the stimulating panels, this program offers a spectacular setting where our members bring colleagues and family and where we socialize and build longstanding friendships. We make a point of reaching out to new attendees by having a special welcoming reception. We offer an array of activities such as a tour to the Frank Lloyd Wright museum, hiking, golf, tennis, swimming, shopping and entertainment for children. We also hold a Committee business meeting, which allows new attendees to hear about our plans and to learn how to get involved. More than anything else, this program a really fun!

Service Project (April, 2010). For the first time, we are initiating our own service project in conjunction with the Annual Spring Meeting. We will be selecting a local Phoenix charity which serves local underprivileged population, and will be providing donations and care packages of items most needed. Stay tuned to our web site to learn how you can participate in this worthwhile service project.

Teleconference on Comparative Products Liability Legal Systems in Canada and Europe (October, 2009). We are sponsoring a teleconference with other TIPS committees to deal with the ever increasing demand for an understanding of other countries' products liability systems. We already have renown practitioners from four countries/several continents committed as panelists. We plan to market this program internationally to gain a wide audience and establish our Committee's reputation as a leader in international law in the toxic tort and environmental law fields. We are planning several other teleconferences throughout the year, and welcome ideas and volunteers to moderate these panels.

Our newsletters provide an excellent avenue for our members to publish on a wide range of new and interesting issues. We are planning four issues this year, and the articles will cover analyses of groundbreaking court cases, as well as recent developments in toxic tort and environmental law. We also welcome contributing articles from attorneys in your firm who are not (yet!) members of our Committee. If you or your colleague are interested in submitting an article for our newsletter, please contact us.

In conclusion, we are fortunate indeed to be experiencing a particularly dynamic time with our Committee, and we thank our members for their enormous contributions, and extend a warm welcome to any ABA member who is interested in joining our Committee. If you are a current member of TTEL, and wish to become involved in a leadership capacity, there are many opportunities available. On behalf of this Committee, we thank you for visiting our home page, and hope that you will continue to be a regular visitor to our site. For enrollment in the Torts Trial & Insurance Section, simply fill out the on-line application form. If you are already a member of TIPS, you may join up to three (3) committees at no additional cost. However, if you are not yet a member of TIPS, you must join that Section in order to joint our Committee. If you have any questions regarding participation in TIPS Committees, please contact our TIPS membership coordinator Linda Wiley at wileyl@staff.abanet.org or by phone at 312-988-6229.

And be sure to check back on our web site often for updates to our meetings, CLE programs and other exiting things we will be doing in the year to come!