On August 16, 1946, a group of nine plaintiffs’ lawyers met in Portland, Oregon at the Heathman Hotel, and formed the first national organization for trial lawyers, called the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys (NACCA). NACCA went on to become the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA®), and later the American Association for Justice (AAJ). In 2004, Trial Guides was formed in Portland, two blocks away from the birthplace of the AAJ. In late 2010, Trial Guides became the new publisher of books and multimedia material for the AAJ. The Trial Guides web site now provides products from both Trial Guides’ own product line, as well as products published in association with the AAJ.
Why is Trial Guides different from other legal publishers? Trial Guides’ leadership is in the trenches with you. Our founder and advisory board are leading trial lawyers and trial consultants. Our product review boards are made up of successful plaintiffs’ lawyers throughout the country who practice law rather than spending a lifetime in academia never litigating a case and facing a jury. We know what it’s like to try a case and take the verdict. We know what it’s like to deal with insurers and corporations motivated to deny claims and use frivolous defenses at trial. Our leadership understands how it feels to win and lose trials and face the social stigma that plaintiffs’ lawyers experience in society.
We face a hostile jury in today’s economy and political climate. We know that litigation methods that worked ten years ago are no longer effective. So we understand how important it is for you to have the very best resources to ethically maximize settlements, and win at trial. We publish for lawyers who won’t accept less than a full and fair outcome for their clients’ cases. This commitment to you and your clients is why the nation’s finest trial lawyers, jury consultants, and experts choose Trial Guides as their legal publisher.
In addition to Trial Guides’ own product line, we became the publisher for the AAJ for books and multimedia material in late 2010. Trial Guides’ first step after entering into a publishing relationship with the AAJ Press was to look at the AAJ’s rich archive of books, audio recordings, and videos. We wanted to provide the wisdom of the greatest lawyers of the past to a new generation of trial lawyers.
We found treasures at the American Association for Justice, going back to the creation of NACCA, that contain timeless concepts on advocacy. During 2011 and 2012, Trial Guides undertook a major project to review and restore these resources. They include audio and video from all of the following:
Gerry Spence
Moe Levine
Theodore Koskoff
Robert Cartwright
Stanley Preiser
Harry Philo
Thomas Lambert
Tom T. Anderson
Peter Perlman
Richard "Racehorse" Haynes
Bill Colson
Francis Hare Jr.
Sydney McMath
Ned Good
Phil Corboy
Melvin Belli
JD Lee
Howard Nations
Scott Baldwin
We continue to go through the material, which has been restored from dusty reel to reel tapes and U-Matic (a large predecessor of VHS.) We have already released the first of these products. We are releasing only the best material, which contains enduring lessons on advocacy taught by the greatest lawyers of the twentieth century. Many exciting new products with AAJ are planned for the coming years.
At the same time, Trial Guides has continued to create cutting-edge products that will help you maximize your settlements and verdicts. The web site provides you with all new ways to win. Most important of these is the Trial Guides App, a revolutionary iPad app that instantly delivers Trial Guides e-books, audio recordings and videos along with an integrated note system that ties together all of your ideas on how to improve your practice.
Our goal is to make you the best lawyer you can be by educating you on compelling case presentations, winning trial themes, and the most effective methods of dealing with problematic defense tactics. By immersing yourself in Trial Guides products, you can take a wealth of winning litigation tactics and make them your own.
The nation’s leading trial lawyers are loyal Trial Guides customers because they realize that we only create and distribute the best resources. They recognize that to excel, you must continue to grow as a lawyer. Our products address current litigation issues head-on, discussing how to frame cases and anticipate jurors corrupted by tort reform.
Our best wishes on making 2013 your most successful year of practice.