A progress report from TLC's president. (Trial Lawyers Care).

"I only wish to say thank you for your effort and thank all the attorneys out there that are taking these cases pro bono. I am very happy to have an attorney that will put so much time and effort to help me in such a difficult and confusing matter."

So wrote a September 11 victim's wife, one of more than 1,000 family members who have already received free legal services from Trial Lawyers Care, Inc.

Founded in the difficult days following the terrorist attacks, Trial Lawyers Care (TLC) has completed almost 10 months of work. Much has been accomplished, but even more remains to be done by what is already the largest private pro bono operation in history.

TLC's early work concentrated on building an organization, establishing operating policies, conducting attorney recruitment, and reaching out to victims. From the outset, we realized the enormity of our undertaking and sought help from the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and ATLA-New Jersey, both of which had also begun pro bono efforts. In cooperation with the trial lawyer associations in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, we have created a program that is greater than the sum of its parts. New York has been particularly supportive, obtaining an office for TLC in a court building in lower Manhattan.

In the first three months, TLC devoted major resources to advocating for fair and comprehensive regulations. The final regulations have been issued, and while in some respects they are disappointing, they promise fair, adequate, and speedy compensation for most victims and families. Unfortunately, whether domestic partners and undocumented workers are covered is unclear. On the other hand, contrary to early reports, awards should provide for both economic and noneconomic losses, and the impact of collateral-source deductions has been greatly limited.

Victim outreach--to inform about the fund and the availability of free legal services--continues to be one of TLC's most difficult tasks. We have met with hundreds of organizations, support groups, victim representatives, labor unions, charitable organizations, and resource providers. We have placed paid and public service advertisements in the media, and we have launched special efforts to reach out to the Hispanic and Asian communities.

As the time to begin filing claims approached, TLC took steps to support our volunteer attorneys. We published and, when the final regulations were released, revised a 300-page attorney handbook for representing clients. Education programs have been presented in cooperation with the New York and New Jersey trial lawyer associations.

TLC is also recruiting expert witnesses and developing other resources and materials to help attorneys. Charles River Associates, a highly respected economic consulting firm, has provided in-depth analyses of the economic methodology contained in the fund regulations. Insurance companies and structured settlement brokers have pitched in, waiving fees. Several Washington, D.C., law firms have provided free analyses of insurance issues.

The National Center for Victims of Crime has provided invaluable advice about interacting with the victims and their families. And when Congress enacted federal income- and estate-tax relief, TLC solicited and obtained free tax services for the victims and their families.

Representing September 11 clients-dealing with a unique fund and an unprecedented process--is a great challenge. We are fortunate to have a dedicated staff, more than a dozen strong (including five fulltime volunteers), who tirelessly take on every task. Michael Starr, ATLA's general counsel, spent five months commuting to New York every week. Bill Mauk gave up his law practice in Idaho and moved to New York for five months to help. Local attorneys Meryl Braunstein and Paul Holdorf simply walked in and volunteered. With limited resources, they tackle problems ranging from obtaining proper personal-representative appointments, to getting autopsy reports, to seeking experts who can help make emotional-loss evaluations.

Although much of our work is still before us, TLC has already received significant recognition. The U.S. Department of Justice includes information about the program on the section of its Web site dealing with the fund. In addition, TLC received a 2001 Pro Bono Award from the National Law Journal, a Special Pro Bono Award from the American Bar Association Committee on Legal Assistance to Military Personnel, and the 2002 Associations Advance America Honor Roll Award from the American Society of Association Executives.

In important ways, the best is yet to come. By the time you read this report, TLC attorneys should be obtaining awards. We project that over the duration of this program, volunteer attorneys will represent more than 2,000 victim families. [For the story of one attorney and his TLC client, read the interview with Leo Boyle and David Gordenstein on page 56.]

This can be trial lawyers' finest hour, an opportunity to show America what we do best: help those who are injured and seeking justice