A fund to protect the civil justice system.

The Robert L. Habush ATLA Endowment was created to fund programs that will create public understanding and provide research and ideas to promote the civil justice system in the 21st century. The Endowment functions as a grant-making foundation with the mission to preserve and protect the civil justice system and individual rights by providing consistent public education and research to promote informed public dialogue on, understanding of, and appreciation for the civil justice system; sponsoring prestigious education programs and publications for judges and law professors; and funding innovative scholarship and research on the civil justice system and individual rights. These issues are addressed through four institutes: the Public Education Institute, the Judicial Institute, the Law School Institute, and the Research Institute.

TRIAL is proud to feature profiles of ATLA members who have completely fulfilled their commitment to the Endowment. The first three of a series appear on the following pages. They will be profiled in alphabetical order. For a complete list of Endowment Profiles, please see the 2005-06 ATLA Membership Directory Supplement.

For more information, please call [phone] or send a message to [e-mail].

Scott Baldwin Sr. is the senior member of the law offices of Baldwin & Baldwin, L.L.R Born and reared in Texas, he received his B.A. from North Texas State University in 1949 and subsequently his L.L.B. and J.D. from Texas University in 1953. He has practiced law for more than 50 years, limiting his practice to trial work, including many high-profile civil and commercial cases.

Mr. Baldwin has been honored by his peers through admission into The Inner Circle of Advocates, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, and American Board of Trial Advocates. He has also served as the president of both the Texas Trial Lawyers Association from 1965 to 1966 and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America from 1984 to 1985. Mr. Baldwin also served as dean of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers from 1992 to 1993, as well as president from 1995 to 1996.

He is the author or coauthor of numerous books and publications, including Art of Advocacy--Direct Examination, published by Matthew Bender; The Preparation of a Product Liability Case, published by Little, Brown and Company; and Scott Baldwin on Jury Arguments, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. He has acted as editorial advisor to Michie Company's Texas Tort Reporter and was also featured in Outrageous Misconduct, by Paul Brodeur. Mr. Baldwin is in constant demand as a lecturer and speaker.

Mr. Baldwin has been listed in The Best Lawyers of America, and most recently, he was selected as one of the 100 best lawyers in the State of Texas over the past 100 years. Mr. Baldwin's Marshall, Texas, firm includes two of his sons, who are partners in the firm.

Leo V. Boyle, a principal of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald in Boston, graduated from Harvard College in 1968 with a B.A. in English. He received his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1971.

Mr. Boyle served as ATLA'S president in 2001-2002. He was president-elect in 2000-2001, was vice president in 1999-2000, secretary in 1998-1999, treasurer in 1997-1998, and parliamentarian in 1996-1997. He served on the Board of Governors from 1987 to 1991 and 1994 to 1996. He was cochair of ATLA's 50th Anniversary Committee and has co-chaired the Legal Affairs Committee, the Bar Liaison Committee, and the ALI Relations and Study Committee. In 1994, 1995, and 1996, he received Citations of Excellence for his service to ATLA. A former trustee of the Civil Justice Foundation, Mr. Boyle is currently a trustee and fellow of the Roscoe Pound Institute and chair of the ATLA's List Committee.

He served as the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association in 1990-1991 and as president of the New England Bar Association in 1992-1993. He is currently on the Board of Governors for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was president of Trial Lawyers Care, 2002-2003, a pro bono organization helping the September 11th victims' families.

In 1990-1991, Mr. Boyle was president of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association Council, and in 1996, he received the William J. Kenealy, S.J., Alumnus of the Year Award from that school.

He has participated in approximately 100 presentations on trial advocacy and tort law at educational programs offered or sponsored by various bar organizations and institutions, including ATLA's National College of Advocacy. Mr. Boyle has also testified before committees of the Massachusetts state legislature in opposition to restrictive legislation in the areas of automobile insurance and medical malpractice.

His memorable cases include Santos v. Chrysler (1999), Fubini v. Chaffey (1999), Herson v. Massachusetts Electric (1993), and Bielat v. American Optical Corp. (1983).

Robert A. Clifford was selected in 2004 as one of the "five most respected plaintiffs' attorneys" in the country by Corporate Legal Times. The National Law Journal named Mr. Clifford's firm on the "Plaintiffs' Hot List: 25 Go-To Teams" in 2003 and one of the top 20 firms in 2004. Mr. Clifford also was named one of the Top Ten Litigators in Illinois in 1999, as well as one of the nation's Top Ten Litigators by the National Law Journal in 1993.

Mr. Clifford consistently garners very significant awards in many high-profile cases, including one for Rachel Barton, an internationally acclaimed violinist injured by a commuter train. Clifford Law Offices topped the Chicago Lawyer Magazine's Annual Settlement Survey of Illinois law firms in 2002.

Mr. Clifford was elected chair of the 70,000-member American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation in 2001. Mr. Clifford was appointed by the ABA president to chair the Task Force on Terrorism and the Law where he served in an advisory role to congressional, executive, state, and local leaders on the legal ramifications of the September 11th terrorist attacks on America. He currently serves on the ABA House of Delegates.

He is past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a past president of the Chicago Inns of Court. He was selected to be a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation only group of 100 trial lawyers from around the country. He has been inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, as well as the National Judicial College, a select assembly of legal and corporate leaders from across the country dedicated to furthering the education and training of judges. He was a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Professionalism in 2003. Mr. Clifford also serves on the Board of the Rand Institute for Civil Justice, a "think tank" based in California.

Mr. Clifford endowed the Chair on Tort Law and Social Policy to his alma mater, De Paul University College of Law, an annual symposium where academicians, lawyers, and judges from across the country gather to speak on a timely topic of interest dealing with the relationship between tort law, popular culture, and societal needs. Founded in 1994, the symposium is free to the public.