Since foreclosure filings continue to increase throughout the state, Alabama State Bar President Mark White of Birmingham recognized that we need more lawyers to assist consumers with foreclosure issues in these tough  economic times. I was asked to chair a six-member Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force to focus on ways lawyers could deliver pro bono assistance to distressed homeowners.

Christopher D. Glover, personal injury attorney reflects on his journey through the American Association for Justice, focusing on the New Lawyer's Division (NLD). "To serve is our collective obligation as lawyers and
as members of this association. Personally, to give back is how I was raised by my parents, it is what my
faith mandates, it is because that was the example set by the lawyers with whom I've practiced."

Large corporations and business interests are tired of the "death by a thousand cuts" approach to so-called tort reform efforts. The Tort reform "cuts" were in many forms such as arbitration; who recalls the Scintilla rule?; caps on damages; Daubert or expert challenges; some folks even claim business biased judges sit on appellate courts throughout the country. That is simply not enough. The most recent attempt at national tort reform is better described as tort destruction. The current administration's attempts to preempt state law by inserting pro-preemption language in federal agency rules has been characterized as back-door tort "reform."

Beasley Allen attorney Mike Andrews discusses a defective safety belt in the Fall 2008 issue of the American Association for Justice publication. The article looks at a significant case recently handled by Beasley Allen that involved a defective seatbelt buckle design that is utilized in numerous heavy trucks in the United States. An internal design defect prevents the buckle from latching properly.