Trial Magazine

Take a deep breath, release the spool, toss the bait across the lake, and hope for a big bass. That’s the picture I have in mind for life immediately after the AAJ Annual Convention in Philadelphia happening this month. Well, immediately after the trial I have right after the convention. Then, I can fish.

Serving as president of AAJ this past year has been, and always will be, one of the greatest privileges of my life. If you had told me when I first joined AAJ (then ATLA) as a third-year law student that I would serve as its president one day, I never would have believed you. But now it is in the books.

It has been a very busy year, not only for me but for all your AAJ national officers. We took advantage of a return to in-person meetings and conventions. It was not unusual to see two or three officers at state trial lawyer association (TLA) conventions and meetings of other plaintiff-side organizations.

We gave education presentations and AAJ updates, and had meetings to grow membership and Leaders Forum. This year, your officers visited 29 state TLAs and various other organizations. I have been on over 130 different airplanes visiting places from New York to Miami to Seattle and dozens of cities in between.

I’m happy to say that AAJ has had a very successful year, and, despite the challenges ahead, we are in a good position to meet them head-on. Since the association was created in 1946, member firms have always stepped up financially to help when they can. And they continue to do so through Leaders Forum—AAJ’s premier membership for law firms; the Evergreen Fund; and other ways.

As of this writing, we are nearing a record 550 Leaders Forum firms. (See p. 62 for a listing of member firms.) The Evergreen Fund is also a vital part of what AAJ needs to accomplish its mission, and we continue to have pledges from lawyers who contribute a portion of their attorney fees from the successful cases they are handling­—from car crash cases to mass tort litigation.

Another one of my fundraising goals this year was to continue to grow AAJ PAC. In the first quarter of 2023, we had a successful IMPACT Campaign that raised over $500,000 and gained 512 new or upgraded donors. And I’ve been fortunate enough to meet with many civil justice champions in Congress—they will need our help this election cycle, and these additional funds will be a big part of that.

Finally, I hoped that we would try new things during my presidential year, and we accomplished that. One thing we heard was that our membership is craving more information and programming. As a result, this fall we will present our first ever Firm BOSS Summit, an event centered solely on the business and operations of running a law firm. (To register, visit https://www.aajfirmsummit.org.)

This program caps off a hugely successful year for our Education department, which continues to put on vital programing such as “ATLA’s Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course^®”: The Art of Persuasion. I took off a few days to attend and was glad I did because the speakers and topics were top-notch.

I can only conclude by giving a huge thank you to the incredible professional staff in Washington, D.C., for all that you do for AAJ members and our clients. Thank you for fighting every day to keep the courthouse doors open. Thank you for training lawyers to be unmatched advocates in the courtroom. Thank you for all your support, guidance, and dedication this past year. And thank you to AAJ’s officers, Executive Committee, Board of Governors, and dedicated members who went above and beyond to make this year a success.

Tad Thomas is the founder and the managing partner of Thomas Law Offices in Louisville, Ky., and can be reached at tad.thomas@justice.org.