Trial Magazine

Birthdays are a really big deal in my house. No matter the age, we make sure that the celebrant feels the love and attention to mark another lap around the sun. It seems fitting that during my year as president, I will be fortunate enough to begin celebrating AAJ’s 75th anniversary. As I contemplated the gravity of this anniversary, I thought about the “best-of” accomplishments and contributions to society that our trial lawyers have made over the many decades.

In 1958, in Harkness v. Trans World Airlines, trial lawyers from AAJ (then called by its original name, the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys) secured a verdict for some of the victims from two planes that crashed over the Grand Canyon two years earlier. Before that, lawyers bringing aviation lawsuits had been failing in their efforts to win with a theory of res ipsa loquitur. However, because of this fledgling organization born in 1946, trial lawyers could meet at a convention, join forces, and take on Goliath together. This collective approach gave rise not only to safer skies but also to decades of fair compensation for victims of other mass tragedies.

Also in 1958, AAJ trial lawyers helped advance the application of the concept of strict products liability, stemming from a case in which a vaccine manufacturer cut corners in following the formula of the polio vaccine. It resulted in over 200 people contracting the live polio virus. The trial lawyers’ brilliant work led to greater safety in vaccines and countless other products.

Ten years later in 1968, trial lawyers successfully argued in Larsen v. General Motors Corp. that car collisions are foreseeable and therefore cars must be manufactured so they are “fit for intended use” and provide certain levels of safety in a crash. The case gave rise to the modern-day application of “crashworthiness.”

In 1978 came the famous Ford Pinto case, Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co. Trial lawyers proved that Ford literally chose profits over safety—rather than spend just a few dollars to fix the faulty fuel tank line design, Ford kept pushing out a best-selling car even though it knew the fuel tank could explode. A jury’s award of $3 million in compensatory damages and $125 million in punitive damages was followed by massive attention and the eventual recall of the Pinto.

By the 1990s, AAJ members were applying the lessons from a generation ago to work together through AAJ Litigation Groups to hold the makers of dangerous drugs accountable. In the 21st century, the same model has been applied to accountability for defective medical devices and other complex litigation.

AAJ trial lawyers have led the way on countless litigations of critical societal importance, from tobacco to air bag safety to the opioid epidemic to civil rights. And we continue to be on the front line every day for our clients and the greater good.

Past is prologue, and we are positioned to take on the next fights with the next generation of leadership. As we look ahead, we will continue to engage our diverse and talented members. Through AAJ’s Caucuses we have a diverse leadership of women, minority, LGBTQ, and young trial lawyers who will lead the way for the association and the legal profession.

As we kick off our 75th year, this month’s Trial highlights how diversity and inclusion have enriched AAJ and the legal profession and ways to continue to battle bias and push for further change. Turn to p. 18 for reflections from Roxanne Barton Conlin, AAJ’s first female president, and Richard D. Hailey, AAJ’s first Black president. Plus, read about steps lawyers and firms can take to make the profession more equitable (p. 40); AAJ’s diversity by the numbers (p. 28); the success of AAJ’s Leadership Academy (p. 34); confronting LGBTQ bias in the courtroom (p. 50); and the stories of minority trial lawyers in our ongoing Hear Our Voices series (p. 36).

As we plan for the challenges of the future and recall the many incredible successes past and present, here’s to the first 75 years. Let’s carry the momentum into the next 75!

Tobi L. Millrood is a partner at Pogust Millrood in suburban Philadelphia and can be reached at tobi.millrood@justice.org.