For The Defense, February 2012 - DRI Today

On The Record
A Teachable Moment Rings True
In Search of Our Voice
By J. Michael Weston, DRI First Vice President
According to Wikipedia, the alpha and omega of knowledge
in the twenty- first century, a teachable moment is
“the time at which learning a particular topic or idea become
possible or easiest.” One never knows how and when
teachable moments occur, but when they do they are certainly
worth noting and acting upon. I had a teachable
moment when I attended the Southwest Regional Meeting
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last August. I sat in a gathering
of 15–20 great bar leaders from the states in the
Southwest Region, along with DRI Past Presidents Burt
Johnson, John Martin and Cary Hiltgen, and Southwest
Regional Director Kevin Driskill. I listened to the accomplishments
of the various state and local defense organizations
and heard their plans for the upcoming year.
Texas Association of Defense Counsel (TADC) President
Keith O’Donnell chronicled the past year in Texas.
He reported on the very difficult year that Texas defense
counsel had experienced in dealing with draconian tort
reform that was being pushed through the Texas legislature.
(Included among the provisions was “loser pays.”)
Thanks to the good work of the TADC, in cooperation
with the Texas chapter of ABOTA (led by DRI National
Director David Chamberlain), many of the provisions
were softened and the rights of its citizens to utilize the
courts for civil disputes protected. However as he discussed
the work of the TADC, Keith looked at me and
firmly said, “DRI ain’t the voice of the defense bar.” (He
may not have said “ain’t” but it felt like he did.)
Keith went on to talk about what is important to defense
lawyers as they represent their clients and as they
build and maintain their careers. He talked about access
to the courts and ensuring that the playing field remains
fair. He rightly questioned whether DRI spoke in that
voice when it touted itself as the “voice of the defense bar.”
For me it was a teachable moment. As I flew back to
Iowa after the conference, I reflected on the many positions
that DRI takes on your behalf as members of the
civil defense bar. I thought about instances where the
positions we have taken were what members like Keith
rightly expect, and others that may not have been.
In the months that followed, DRI Executive Director
John Kouris traveled the country and visited with SLDO
leaders to discuss how we can best serve one another
and our respective members. A common theme was that
the states want DRI to speak effectively on behalf of its
members—defense lawyers. Some questioned whether
we were.
In response the Executive Committee of DRI
announced the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy.
Developed and championed by President Henry Sneath,
the Center will strive to make DRI more consistent,
responsive advocates of the interests of our members.
It will help DRI establish a consistent voice that is recognized
in the legal and general community. Past President
Marc Williams will serve as the inaugural chair
of the Center. Look for developments in the weeks and
months ahead.
Along with the Center, we will continue to address
important issues to the defense bar. Recall that our efforts
include among others the following programming.
The National Foundation for Judicial Excellence
Founded in 2005, the National Foundation for Judicial
Excellence (NFJE) provides free judicial education to
state court appellate judges around the country. The goal
of the NFJE is to present different aspects of legal issues
that judges confront in their states fairly, clearly defining
the defense perspective on each topic. Judges and justices
from 46 states have attended in the past. (Please consider
contributing to this worthy effort.)
Lawyers for Civil Justice
In cooperation with the leadership of our sister organizations,
the IADC and FDCC, DRI has created and fostered
Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ), a national think
tank dedicated to protecting the rights of defendants in
civil litigation. LCJ has taken on such topics as the criminalization
of corporate counsel activity, and streamlining
the rules of discovery such that our courts can be
used to resolve civil disputes efficiently. It is our belief
that litigants should use the court system because it is
fair and efficient. If the rules of discovery exact such a
financial burden on our clients that they are unwilling
to utilize the court system, they will not utilize the services
of our members.
Amicus Committee
In 2011 DRI was as active as any other organization or
trade association in terms of the filing of amicus curiae
briefs. We supported the defendant in Dukes v. Wal-
Mart, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that protected the
rights of our clients to defend themselves in individual
litigation rather than be swept up in aggregate litigation
On The Record, continued on page 7
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