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. It does this by providing consistent public education and research to promote informed public dialogue on, understanding of, and appreciation for the civil justice system. Additionally, the Endowment sponsors prestigious education programs and publications for judges and law professors and funds 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 next three of the series appear on these pages.

They are 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], ext. 544, or send a message to [e-mail].

Peter Perlman heads his own firm in Lexington, Kentucky, where he practices personal injury law.

He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and is a past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He served on the board of the National Judicial College. In addition, he is on the board of directors of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a member of the International Society of Barristers.

He is a founding member and past president of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and the Civil Justice Foundation. He serves on the board of directors of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group. He is past president of the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys. He has served on the board of governors of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He formerly taught litigation skills at the University of Kentucky College of Law and has been inducted into the College of Law Hall of Fame.

He is the author of numerous legal articles and books, including Annotated Opening Statements (1994), and he appears in ATLA's videotape series Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit: How to Be a Trial Lawyer (1994).

David L Perry is one of the senior partners of Perry & Haas, L.L.P., located in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is a 1967 graduate of the University of Texas Law School, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi Fraternity and the Order of the Coil, an honorary scholastic society honoring excellence in law.

Perry is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Attorneys Information Exchange Group, where he sits on the executive committee (1983-present); the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, where he was president (1988-1989); the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, where he sat on the board of governors (1989-1990); the American Bar Association; the State Bar of Texas; the Corpus Christi Bar Association; and the American Board of Trial Advocates. Perry is also listed in Best Lawyers in America (2006).

Perry has been lead counsel in non-class action cases--including Durrill v. Ford Motor Co., Harper v. General Motors, and Caballero v. Esenjay Petroleum--achieving significant verdicts and settlements for individuals who were injured or killed by wrongful conduct. Perry and fellow law firm partner Rene Haas, along with their client, John Caballero, were awarded ATLA's Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award in 1999. Mr. Perry and Phoenix lawyer Patrick J. McGroder III together have represented victims and families involved in eight tragic Crown Victoria Police Interceptor fires.

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.R is based in Minneapolis and has offices in Atlanta; Boston; Los Angeles; Naples, Florida; and Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized for its litigation practice in the areas of intellectual property, business, insurance, mass tort, personal injury, and medical malpractice.

The firm adheres to the core principle that lawyers should represent all segments of our society. Since it was founded in 1938, the firm has represented individuals, corporations, and government entities as both plaintiff and defense counsel. Its lawyers approach each matter with the efficiency, focus, and discipline attained through a practice that historically has a significant portion of its revenue based on alternative fee arrangements.

In 2004, The American Lawyer and IP Law & Business magazines named the firm "IP Litigation Department of the Year," based on the strength of its litigation practice. Some of the firm's cases include the University of California v. Microsoft Corp., Honeywell, Inc. v. US. JVC Corp., Tulip Computers International B. V. v. Dell Computer Corp., and St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants, Inc. v. Sony Corp.

Also in 2004, The American Lawyer named Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi to its "A-List," which is made up of the nation's top 20 firms based on revenue per lawyer, pro bono work, associate satisfaction, and diversity.

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi's attorneys and staff are deeply involved in the communities in which they practice. In 1998, the firm donated a gift of $30 million to the Minneapolis Foundation, one of the nation's largest community foundations and the oldest foundation in Minnesota. Funds from the gift were used to establish the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Foundation for Education, Public Health, and Social Justice. The primary mission of this supporting organization is to create a permanent endowment, income from which will primarily address K-12 education programs, health concerns, and advocacy in social justice initiatives for children and disenfranchised people.