Vested Interest - November 2004 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

As we head into Thanksgiving, it is time to reflect on the positive actions of the citizens of Illinois and the positive actions taken by members of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association recently.

Illinois elected a new U.S Senator and a new member of Congress. Barack Obama will now represent the people of the State of Illinois when he takes his seat in the U.S. Senate alongside Senator Richard Durbin. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Melissa Bean promises to work hard and bring new energy to the task of representing the citizens of her congressional district in Illinois.

In southern Illinois, where great efforts were made to characterize lawyers as sharks, and the civil justice system as the root cause of all problems in medicine, a recent poll indicated that a clear majority (55%) of Illinois citizens are against caps on damages in medical negligence cases. Rightfully, Illinois has not given up on fighting for the most egregiously injured, despite great efforts to demonize civil justice.

Outside of the political and legislative arenas in Illinois, our members have provided pro bono services to victims of the September 11th tragedy. ITLA members have assisted many claimants in applying for benefits to ease the financial difficulties arising out of that horrible day. Other ITLA members traveled to states where voters’ rights were challenged. Our attorneys assisted those who possessed legitimate voter registrations, enabling them to cast votes for their candidates, despite the dispute of others. Many of the challenged voters were immigrants, minorities or the poor who could not afford lawyers to explain their basic voting rights to them. Most likely, many voters would not have exercised their fundamental democratic right without the assistance of our members. We honor our attorneys who gave their time to make our society democratic for everyone.

Our seminars are better than ever. At the recent workers compensation seminar, we had a standing room only crowd. Due to the quality of the materials and the excellence of the presentations, ITLA received many compliments from both sides of the workers compensation bar. Next year we will move to a larger venue to accommodate our ever-increasing numbers. ITLA seminars not only raise the competency of practitioners, but they also improve the practice of law by raising the awareness of ethics in what we do. The planners and participants in our seminars deserve our kudos and the kudos of the entire organized bar in Illinois.

The breadth of participation in ITLA has greatly increased this past year. There is a renewed energy in the Board of Managers and the Board of Advocates to participate in the protection of citizens’ rights to civil justice. Our past presidents have been particularly helpful in donating their expertise and resources to our efforts.

Many new members have asked what they can do to become more involved with our labors. I tell them the Amicus, Legislative, Medical Negligence and Membership Committees of ITLA have great leadership, do tremendous work and always have more work to do. If members want to preserve the rights of citizens and work to improve the practice of law, then I recommend they join one or more of our excellent committees.

Overall, ITLA members are doing more than ever. We have accomplished a great deal. We are working on many fronts. And, we look forward to a bright future.

Kevin Conway, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association