When you become an ATLA officer, you face many votes of your peers as you journey from parliamentarian to president. I faced one more vote: my family’s. Before I sought the presidency, the Caseys sat down at the family table. I told my wife and two children that the job would require me to be away from home frequently and that they each would have to make sacrifices. I got unanimous support.

Until you’ve held this position, you don’t fully understand the burden it places on your family. To my beautiful and talented wife, Lisa, I say thank you for all you’ve done to help me along in this journey. To my son, David, who at 14 likes to assert his independence: You’ll be seeing me a lot more. To my 13-year-old daughter, Shannon, who has often noted her "missing dad": Soon I will be back full time.

Growing up, I learned that the law was the proverbial jealous mistress. I salute the families of every trial lawyer across the country for the sacrifices they have made.

I attended my first ATLA convention in 1978, when every office was contested. My firm’s senior partner, Richard Gerry, told me how to vote. Three years later, Dick became ATLA president. Without his influence, I would have never started down this path. I thank him for his inspiration.

ATLA has evolved remarkably over the past 25 years to face new and ever more difficult challenges. The Habush ATLA Endowment is approaching its full funding of $20 million. The Center for Constitutional Litigation, led by Bob Peck, has grown into the nation’s finest legal advocacy group for protecting citizens’ access to the courts. And under Ken Suggs’s stewardship, the Leaders Forum recently reached 400 members.

As a bipartisan organization, ATLA has reached out to its Republican members for many years. Thanks to the hard work of Jim Parkinson and Elizabeth Humphrey, the Republican Trial Lawyers Caucus has grown steadily; it held its first Republican Caucus Lobby Day this year.

The challenges ATLA faces today are unprecedented. Although in this Congress the Senate has held floor votes on more bills to restrict plaintiffs’ rights than at any time in our history, we have lost none. Our Public Affairs staff, led by Linda Lipsen, has fought endless and recurring battles against unbelievable odds.

Tom Henderson, our longtime CEO, has guided ATLA steadily through its most difficult times. When presidents have faced challenges, Tom has been there to support them. I will be forever grateful to him.

Christine Koerner, always willing to take on the tough jobs, has played a critical role in fund-raising, including for Trial Lawyers Care, our program to provide pro bono representation to victims of 9/11.

Margie Lehrman has ensured that ATLA remains the leading provider of legal education for the trial bar in the United States. Anji Jesseramsing has overseen major improvements in the Exchange, making it an indispensable online resource for members.

Melissa Duprat, along with Board of Governors member Phil Maher, recruited ATLA members to serve as ambassadors to every law school in the country. At the same time, Melissa, with the help of Secretary Mike Eidson, has worked hard to maintain ATLA’s membership ranks.

Ed Lazarus shares his brilliant political insight to help our affiliated trial lawyer associations fight for civil justice in the states. Kristin Keckeisen, with the help of the New Lawyers Division, has done an extraordinary job of expanding our grassroots efforts.

Carlton Carl, who heads up our media relations efforts, gets the truth out to the public with eloquence, good judgment, and a sense of humor. Mike Starr, ATLA’s legal counsel, a lawyer to lawyers, makes sure things are always done right, and his work was critical to the success of Trial Lawyers Care.

Anne Goodfriend sees to it that TRIAL and the Law Reporters are must-read resources for trial lawyers month after month. Annie Seale makes the complex planning for our twice-yearly conventions seem breathtakingly easy.

Don Walker keeps us on budget, and Jim Ingraham has gently ushered us into the computer age.

I’d like to offer special thanks to my fellow officers: Todd Smith, Ken Suggs, Mike Eidson, Kathleen Flynn Peterson, and Les Weisbrod. They, our colleagues on the Executive Committee, and ATLA’s dedicated Board of Governors care deeply about the law, our clients, and ATLA’s mission.

Credit for any successes achieved in my year as president rests squarely with those named here and many others.

As ATLA president, I would like to dedicate the month of June to our staff. I hope each of you, in your own way, takes the time to recognize a staff member for a job well done.

David S. Casey Jr.