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. 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].

Haggard Parks Haggard & Lewis, P.A.

William Andrew Haggard received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University in 1964. In 1967, he received his J.D. degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Mr. Haggard was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1967 and served as an assistant state attorney in the 11th judicial circuit, as well as serving as chief prosecutor, trial counsel, and military judge in the Judge Advocate General's office of the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1971. He has practiced from 1972 to the present in the field of personal injury, wrongful death, liquor liability, and negligent security, and he has tried more than 150 jury trials. From 1990 to 1992, he served as a commissioner on the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Mr. Haggard is a fellow and chairman of the State Chair Committee of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is also a fellow of both the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates. Other memberships include the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, ATLA, and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, for which he served on the board of directors from 1995 to 1997.

Mr. Haggard maintains close ties with his alma mater. He was a member of the Florida State University Presidential Search Committee in 1993, serves as chairman of the Florida State University College of Arts & Sciences Leadership Counsel, and is on the board of directors of the Florida State University Foundation. Mr. Haggard is also vice-chair of the Florida State University Board of Trustees and is a member of the Mercer University Alumni Board. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and he has a Martindale-Hubbell "AV" rating.

Robert L. Parks is regarded as one of the nation's premier trial lawyers in the areas of personal injury litigation and commercial litigation. His expertise encompasses a variety of civil practice areas, including personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, AIDS litigation, aviation law, and class action litigation. Practicing law for more than 30 years, Mr. Parks has handled more than 750 claims for the personal injury and death of passengers and pilots on general aviation aircraft due to the negligence of manufacturers, air traffic control, maintenance facilities, and other aircraft. An expert in class action litigation, Mr. Parks served as cocounsel in the Florida Microsoft antitrust class action lawsuit and served on the executive plaintiff's steering committee in the national multidistrict AIDS case of Wadleigh v. Rhone-Poulenc Rhorer.

Mr. Parks graduated in 1963 from the Georgetown University Law Center and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 1960. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1964. He has served as president and is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and served on the Florida Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. Mr. Parks served as chairman of the board of directors of the Florida Bar's inaugural Aviation Law Certification Committee. He is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Florida Bar Foundation, the American Bar Foundation, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. For more than 20 years, Mr. Parks has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and serves on the board of directors for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and LawyersAction, Inc.

Hare, Wynn, Newell, & Newton L.L.P. in honor of Francis Hare

Throughout a 57-year legal career from which he never fully retired, Francis Ham's unique approach to his profession left a permanent impact on the system of justice he so faithfully served.

Mr. Hare was born in Lower Peach Tree, a small town in Wilcox County on the Alabama River. At the age of 12, he lost both parents within the same year and was moved to Monroeville, where he lived with his uncle, Judge Francis Hare (for whom he was named). An honors student at both Auburn University and the Naval Academy, he worked his way, virtually unsupported, through the University of Alabama Law School.

Mr. Hare was one of the first attorneys in the United States to commit his practice to representing the rights of injured individuals. Behind his commitment was a genuine sensitivity for each client's personal loss, coupled with a unique ability to present his or her cause with clarity and force.

Of his numerous contributions to the practice of civil litigation, three stand out in terms of innovation and influence: a complete rethinking of the basis on which wrongful death claims are made; a personal manifesto on the nature of pain and suffering; and an argument that brought new respect for the often tragic consequences that so-called small disabilities can have on the quality of an injury victim's life.

During the 1950s, Mr. Hare helped found both the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, serving as the second president of the latter. His many writings and over 300 speech appearances earned him a reputation as one of America's most articulate spokesmen for both the dignity of his profession and the importance of all clients' rights--regardless of race, income, or social standing.

The impact of Mr. Hare's life was not limited to the law. For nearly six decades, he served the Birmingham, Alabama, community through numerous charitable and civic pursuits. Of those endeavors, he took the greatest pride in the Sunday school class he taught for some 40 years.

In 1982, Francis Hare was officially recognized for his lifetime achievements by the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association. His memory still stands as an inspiration to those of us who share his vision of the law as a higher calling and justice as a system that serves to protect all people equally.

Founded by former ATLA President Theodore "Ted" Koskoff, Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder's 18-lawyer firm is nationally known and has been serving the public for more than 60 years. The Hartford Courant recently described Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder as "reputedly the best plaintiffs' law firm in the state."

Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder

Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder handles cases for people who suffer serious personal injuries or economic harm from medical malpractice, negligence, defective products, drunk drivers, corporate or governmental abuse, and commercial misconduct. The firm's staff includes lawyers certified as civil trial specialists by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and lawyers who are included in The Best Lawyers in America, who are members of the Inner Circle of Advocates, and who are featured in Connecticut Magazine as "top lawyers" in the field of personal injury and civil litigation.