President’s Message (Continued from page 3)
there is always another session in the fu- ture.
Suffice it to say that under the
leadership of our Legislative Committee, Wayne Willoughby, Vice-chair Bob Zarbin, MTLA’s President-Elect Mitch Lambros, our Immediate Past President Bruce Plaxen, a host of others, and our three committed lobbyists, we have much to be proud of. Our bills were effectively monitored. We had the ears of the legis- lature. We met with them in many settings to make our voices heard. We had the right people testifying at the right time. Key political contacts were rein- forced and new bonds were forged. A new political-philosophical approach worked well for MTLA, and I’m pleased to re- port that no bad bills were enacted and we moved farther along in the process than previous sessions, bills, like Family Exclusion, that we sought to pass. I am eternally grateful to Wayne and Bruce and our political team for their incredible hard work and commitment. All MTLA mem- bers should be exceedingly proud of them, as well.
Our ability to communicate amongst our members was strengthened, much of the credit belonging to Nicole Schultheis, this year’s winner of the President’s Award, and chair of the Technology Committee, this year’s Committee of the Year. As Chair, Nicole virtually authored and edited MTLA’s The Weekly B-L-A-S-T single handedly, our newly developed online newsletter that reaches every member with an e-mail address. Giving timely informa- tion about trial lawyer news, appellate decisions, useful web links, and happenings at MTLA, the Weekly B-L-A-S-T, in my opinion, was one of the great accomplish- ments of this year. Moreover, our web site,
http://www.mdtriallawyers.com, was vastly improved, giving our members updated cal- endar of events, and timely legislative information affecting our practices. We have also progressed enormously
in the area of membership benefits. Thanks especially to our Membership Services Committee Chair, Beth Frey, and Rod Gaston, members now have ac- cess to literally thousands of deposition transcripts and documents with a click of their mouse. The Trial Reporter, edited by Dennis O’Brien, and ably assisted by Vice Chair Jack Condliffe and Board Member Louise Locke, continued to be a first-rate publication and provided our members with timely and helpful infor- mation and analysis. Our education and programs continued to be second-to- none, as Chair Roger Weinberg and Vice Chair George Tolley organized an impres-
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sive list of programs and speakers. Our Amicus Committee, led by Chair Tom Cardaro and Vice Chair David Kopstein, diligently and effectively monitored those issues before Maryland’s Court of Appeals which affected our clients, submitting amicus briefs when necessary. Our an- nual Golf event (rained out but to be rescheduled at a later date as of this writ- ing), promises, as always, to be a huge success under the helm of Chair Rick Jaklitsch and Vice-Chair Kevin Goldberg. Kevin also took over the Chair of the Membership Committee late in the year, spear-heading an enormously successful membership drive that we co- sponsored with ATLA. On the public interest front, MTLA expanded its usual leadership role. Roger Weinberg organized and led MTLA’s sig- nature Bicycle Helmets program. Through our efforts, MTLA broke all records in the number of bike helmets we have donated to inner-city children through our affiliation with the Safe Kids Foundation. Mitch Greenberg, Chair of our Crime Victims Task Force, forged the first state trial lawyer association affilia- tion with the National Crime Victim Bar Association, the only organized network of attorneys and allied professionals dedi- cated to helping civil actions brought by crime victims. And finally, we were enor- mously fortunate to have Simon Walton serve as chair of our Pro Bono Commit- tee, continuing MTLA’s fine work with Trial Lawyers Care, and our support of Access Maryland and the Maryland Dis- ability Law Center.
Our five sections and litigation groups
grew to unprecedented size and strength. Harry Siegel took the Family Law Sec- tion from a handful to over 100 members, expanding the services that MTLA pro- vides beyond the traditional personal injury practitioner. Harry and his Sec- tion sponsored several seminars with judges in different counties to teach and explain the nuances and strategies in a domestic relations practice. Wayne Willoughby, Chair of the Medical Neg- ligence Section, MTLA’s most prolific and profitable section, took this group to new heights, offering six free breakfast semi- nars to members, moderating our most active specialty listserve, and organizing a full-day educational program geared to its 160-strong members. For its efforts, the Board of Governors voted the Medical Negligence Section the
winner of the
Section of the Year honors. Christian Mester and Al Lechner took
over where New Lawyers Committee founders Kevin Goldberg and Kevin Finnegan left off, growing the section considerably and offering new and inno-
Trial Reporter
vative services to MTLA’s newest mem- bers, and support to MTLA’s many committees and sections. Worker’s Com- pensation Section Chair Bob Zarbin and Vice Chair Andy Kahn expanded the re- sources and effectiveness of this Section, offering leadership on updating the Commission’s long-outdated attorneys’ fee guidelines, and offering seminars and a listserve to its members. Finally, Roger Weinberg continued his dedicated lead- ership of the Nursing Home Section, providing useful seminars, meetings and materials for those attorneys who nobly represent our most vulnerable citizens. Special thanks to past Presidents Vicki
Dexter and ATLA Governor Gus Brown for their organizing and leadership of this year’s Long Range Planning retreat at St. Michael’s, Maryland; Vice-President Walter Laake for his organizational work on our 50th
Anniversary Celebration
Committee; Alison Kohler for superbly performing as the organization’s Secretary and her assistance with the Awards Com- mittee; Andrew Kahn and Matt Paavola, particularly for their work on the organization’s workers’ compensation is- sues; Phil Foard for his initial planning efforts to foster greater involvement with our esteemed past presidents; and to Kevin McCarthy, MTLA Governor Lenny Orman, Dan Clements, Andy Bederman, Evelyn Darden and Monica Turnbo for their hard work and support throughout the year. Special thanks, of course, go to
MTLA’s outstanding Executive Director, Bob Lembo. Bob and his staff – Michele Linck, Jennifer Bond, April Reed, and Brian Szojchet provided exactly the type of leadership and support a board needs to be effective. Bob was especially patient, balancing with particular grace the over- zealousness of a new president with the realities of limited resources. To him, particularly, I am enormously grateful. I could not be more proud of this
Board. Having served on the Board of Governors since 1992, I have seen the full range of issues and details that can trouble a large board of trial lawyers. This group has been, by far, MTLA’s strongest and most productive. I have always believed that part of being an effective leader is knowing when to follow. With natural leaders and workers on this Board, it was a simple matter to let the drive, dedica- tion and commitment of this group take over and steer MTLA into its position as one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers associations. I have been privileged to serve with every one of them.
Spring 2003
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