Michael A. Haggard President		"Serving Your Practice Since 1961" A Message from the FJA President March 3, 2010
On May 20, 1961, a small group of attorneys who primarily represented injured accident victims from across Florida organized themselves into what would become the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. It consisted of less than 50 members who felt that attorneys needed closer communication, educational opportunities and support from one another. Nearly fifty years later, the Academy has transformed into the Florida Justice Association with a membership base of thousands of legal professionals representing thousands of consumers and patients from across the country. We passionately believe that all Floridians benefit when deserving individuals have a fair chance to seek justice in our state's courts and that Florida's consumers are made safer when large corporations and industries are held to a high ethical standard and accept fair responsibility for their actions. It is through our rich historical foundations and the strength of our entire membership base that have enabled us to flourish through the years. I genuinely hope that being a member of the FJA has been a rewarding experience for you and your practice. It is through your support that allows us to be successful in our mission of protecting the entire civil justice system and your membership is greatly appreciated. When it comes to our members, we seek to ensure that you have all the resources you need to bring justice to those who need it. It is our mission and goal to provide you with the absolute best CLE experiences, numerous networking opportunities, professional services, and useful tools that are required to help fight for the rights of your clients and position your practice for success. We are determined to provide you, your practice, and the rights of your clients with a voice inside the Florida Legislature by helping pro-consumer candidates get elected into office to best represent your legislative interests. We battle for you inside the Florida Legislature and strive to make your membership as valuable an experience as we possibly can. As part of our efforts to better serve you and your practice, FJA leaders, members and past presidents met in December as part of an organizational summit to refocus the efforts of our organization. Our mission statement has been changed in order to better reflect our core purpose which is namely, to serve you, our members. Our goal is to promote and protect meaningful access to Florida’s civil justice system for injured victims and their families to seek redress of wrongs while striving for professional excellence and integrity. We strive to serve as the premier resource for the development of your professional skills and the ethical maintenance of your law practice, and to become the foremost source for information exchange that will enhance your law practice. The benefits and services we provide are meant to add value to your membership and to be useful for your practice. I would like to highlight just a few of the great resources available to you as a valued FJA member and encourage you to take advantage of them. We have really come a long way since our founding fifty years ago and offer a great variety of benefits to our members that encompass your legal needs and give your practice a competitive edge. Legislative and Political Representation FJA membership offers you a strong, unified voice throughout the legislative and political seasons. We fight every day to build bipartisan support for a strong civil justice system so you can best represent your clients. We especially battle on behalf of your clients during the Legislative Session, which this year begins on March 2 and continues through April 30, 2010. In addition to our representation of you and your practices during Session, we continually look out for your client’s interests in supporting pro-consumer legislators during the political season and provide you with regional legislative and political briefings throughout the year. Top-Quality CLE FJA is also committed to providing the highest level of continuing legal education to our members, whether it is a live seminar, audio CD, CD-ROM, DVD, online streaming seminar or Webinar. FJA CLE programs offer seminars that focus on building and marketing your practice, maintaining the profession, and promoting an extraordinary level of excellence in service to your clients. Our programs cover a wide variety of topics including auto negligence, advanced trial skills, insurance law, collateral sources, medical malpractice law, and the effects of current legislation on your practice. Included in your membership are complimentary quarterly professional development conference calls delivered through Atticus. Subjects have included “Marketing Without Advertising” and “Website Marketing for Litigators.” Quality Resources You can also take advantage of a growing list of quality resources FJA provides. We take pride in creating, discovering, and delivering new tools to help give you the competitive advantage including TrialSmith and our JournalSearch features. The FJA Journal is the voice of authority on legal trends and case law updates for plaintiff attorneys featuring regular sections on Auto Litigation, Insurance, Medical Malpractice, Appellate, and Workers’ Compensation. In addition, there are articles containing solutions to the everyday challenges of practicing law. No matter when you need it, FJA members can access up-to-date information on current events, legislative updates, upcoming CLE seminars and member services through our interactive website at www.FloridaJusticeAssociation.org. We will soon be unveiling a brand new, cutting-edge website where you can access some great features like a document exchange, numerous email discussion groups, an extensive Expert Witness Database, access to over 1.2 million depositions, expert background reports, pleadings, forms, list server messages, and litigation documents from 76 other trial attorney associations, and an online community where you can network and share information with colleagues. Extended Network of Support FJA is committed to creating and maintaining a support network for our members as they fight for justice in and out of the courtroom. Our network is comprised of thousands of knowledgeable justice attorneys around the state with whom you can share information and strategies with at events like FJA’s Annual Convention, Masters of Justice, Workhorse Seminar, and Member Appreciation Receptions where we bring important legislative and political updates directly to you. Our wide range of communication vehicles ensures you have all the information you need to stay up-to-date and in-the-know when it comes to Florida’s civil justice system and the rights of your clients to seek justice. Be sure to check out FJA’s Journal, CaseWatch, political and legislative alerts, Case Law Insider, and Florida Justice TV to stay connected to the issues that affect your practice. When it comes to our members, we seek to ensure that you have all the tools and resources you need to bring justice to those who need it. We strive to give you a forum for the exchange of ideas and techniques in order to be best prepared to represent your clients and to build your practice. We are always looking for ways to improve upon our products and services and value your input. Please feel free to contact the FJA at (850) 224-9403 and let us know what you think. This is our organization. Together, we can determine the future direction our organization grows towards. Once again, thank you for being a member of the Florida Justice Association. Through your continued support in the years ahead, we will together bring justice to thousands of Floridians who need our help. We value your membership and want your membership to provide value to your practice.