History
In 1946, a group of plaintiffs' attorneys involved in workers' compensation litigation founded the National Association of Claimants' Compensation Attorneys (NACCA). As their work broadened beyond workers' compensation, in 1960 the NACCA changed its name to the National Association of Claimants' Counsel of America, and four years later, to the American Trial Lawyers Association. In 1972, these groups merged as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). In 1977, ATLA's headquarters moved from Boston to Washington, D.C. Today, AAJ is a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students.
Past presidents include:
- Harry Philo, 1980–1981
- David Shrager, 1983–1984
- Peter Perlman, 1985–1986
- Robert Habush, 1986–1987
- Eugene Pavalon, 1987–1988
- Bill Wagner, 1988–1989
- Bob Gibbins, 1991–1992
- Larry S. Stewart, 1994–1995
- Pamela Angagos Liapalies, 1995–1996
- Mark S Mandell, 1998–1999
- Richard h. Middleton, Jr., 1999–2000
- Mary Alexander, 2002–2003
- Gary Paul, 2011–2012
AAJ has more than 56,000 members worldwide, and a network of state and local affiliates involved in all areas of trial advocacy. AAJ provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance needed to "serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values inherent in the civil justice system." Like many professional organizations, AAJ also engages in lobbying on matters of concern to its members and their clients: "AAJ supports the civil justice system as a fundamental check on the power of businesses and governments and opposes efforts to limit the legal rights of citizens." It has opposed many changes related to "tort reform," including the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, which gives defendant companies the right to remove state court class actions to federal court.
Read more about this topic: American Association For Justice
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constantinople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The history of the genesis or the old mythology repeats itself in the experience of every child. He too is a demon or god thrown into a particular chaos, where he strives ever to lead things from disorder into order.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)