Press Release

Washington, D.C. -- Trial magazine—the flagship publication of the American Association for Justice—was recently awarded a prestigious EXCEL Award for editorial excellence from Association Media & Publishing. The award was given for in-depth coverage by Trial News editors on topics of interest to trial lawyers, professors, judges, and the legal community.

Trial News is the online supplement to Trial magazine, and Association Media & Publishing recognized the Aug. 6, 2015 edition for the EXCEL Award. Trial was among 900 entries for the awards. The EXCEL Awards is the largest award program that exclusively recognizes excellence and leadership in nonprofit association media, publishing, marketing, and communications.

You can learn more about Trial here: www.justice.org/publications.

“Trial magazine showcases a variety of legal issues important to AAJ members who fight for justice for their clients,” said Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice. “We are honored to receive this award and will continue to publish content in Trial and Trial News that informs and educates our readers.”

The top story in the award-winning edition of Trial News was written by Trial’s managing editor, Alyssa Lambert. She reported on a data breach class action lawsuit that a federal appellate court allowed to proceed, potentially vindicating the rights of consumers nationwide. In January 2014, the luxury department store Neiman Marcus discovered malware in its computer system that was attempting to collect customers’ credit card data. But Neiman Marcus did not publicly disclose the data breach or notify about 350,000 customers who were potentially exposed to the malware until 10 days after they discovered the breach.

Another story, written by associate editor Kate Halloran, covered a class action lawsuit filed by Walmart employees over denial of same-sex spousal health insurance benefits. The lawsuit came on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Jacqueline Cote, a Walmart employee, alleged that Walmart violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it refused to extend employment-based health insurance benefits to her spouse, Diana Smithson.

“In every issue of Trial and Trial News, we strive to produce stories that trial attorneys and the legal community will find helpful in their practices,” said Jennifer Adams, editor-in-chief of Trial and director of publications at AAJ. “This EXCEL award is a testament to the continuing excellence of Trial magazine, Trial News, and AAJ Publications.”