Vested Interest - July 1999 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

New Committees

In addition to the standing committees, we have formed a Civil Rights & Employment Law Committee as well as a Grants & Contributions Committee. The Civil Rights & Employment Law Committee was formed to fill a void that none of the standing committees covered in this burgeoning area of law.

The Grants & Contributions Committee is rooted in the need for ITLA to balance its mission of supporting legislation and candidates for the benefit of the disenfranchised with our obligation as lawyers to be good stewards and share our success with the less fortunate by way of non-political contributions. This Committee will screen requests for grants and charitable contributions and make recommendations to the Board of Managers.

The Complaint Form Book

It has been about 10 years since the ITLA Complaint Form Book has been revised. We are going to update it and make it available on disk. If you have filed a case involving a somewhat non-traditional legal theory, please send a disk in Word or Word-Perfect format to ITLA. Accompanying interrogatories and production requests unique to the theory plead, while preferred, are not a pre-requisite. Don’t choose fraudulent concealment—I’ve already called dibs on it.

The ITLA Paradigm: The Use of ITLA funds for Political Purposes Can Co-exist with an ITLA Sponsored Charitable Foundation. On June 11, 1999 a lively debate ensued between two members of the Board Managers during the annual meeting at Oak Brook Hills. One eloquently argued that ITLA funds should be used exclusively for political purposes while the other fervently opined that we have an obligation to do charitable work with our funds as well. Each made good points and both convinced me in their respective positions. This debate came on the heels of multiple requests for contributions by various deserving charities. One such request came from attorney Thomas Burke on behalf of the Buffalo Prairie Gang Camp which is a Paul Newman sponsored “Hole in the Wall Gang” charity that operates camps for children with terminal diseases. Burke passionately requested (somewhat tongue in cheek) that we contribute an amount equal to our last personal injury settlement demand to General Motors. He was very convincing so I forwarded a personal contribution, not for the amount he requested, but for the amount of State Farm’s last offer in settlement to me. That same day, we entertained other requests by well deserving groups including the Illinois Bar Foundation, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and a juvenile justice project out of Cook County, Illinois. These are representative of the many requests we get on a monthly basis -- some are law related -- and some are not. All, however, are worthwhile. The stark reality is that there is simply not enough money to go around for the charities, let alone our primary mission of supporting and electing candidates who will support and sponsor legislation on behalf of the disenfranchised.

With this dilemma in mind, I have been soul-searching for a paradigm that would enable the competing interests for our financial resources, both political and charitable, to be favorably impacted. It seems to me that the average ITLA member wants his or her money to be used for ITLA related objectives. Similarly, I believe the average ITLA member would also like a vehicle whereby ITLA resources, where practicable, can be used for good works outside of the political arena, so long as our primary mission is not compromised. I think the dilemma can be solved by the creation of an ITLA Charitable Foundation. It would be funded by voluntary contributions from the membership, not unlike ITLA -PAC. No funds would be co-mingled and it would be structured to enjoy favorable IRS treatment and contributions would be tax deductible. Its purpose would be to address those requests for grants and contributions that are outside the purview of ITLA’s general objectives and Constitutional mandate. The Grants & Contributions Committee would make recommendations to the Board of Managers for final approval after screening requests for contributions. This would be a charity that we could all adopt as “our own.” Last year I started the “my own” charity principle in my own law practice. Like you, I typically responded favorably to most requests for charitable contributions but recognized that the amount of money I gave each did not have nearly the impact that it would if I had chosen just one charity to receive all of my funding. Consequently, for the year 1999, I am making charitable contributions exclusively to Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, (save my church and a few Thomas Burke-type requests). Next year, I would designate the ITLA Charitable Foundation as “my charity” and make monthly contributions.

What do you think? Write me in care of ITLA and tell me your thoughts and if you have alternative ideas, share them. If the response is favorable, I will place the ITLA Charitable Foundation on the agenda for the September 11, 1999 Board of Managers Meeting.

Keep the faith.

Michael J. Reagan
President, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association