Bring a friend to our cause.

You would have to be a recluse not to know that the assault against the civil justice system is in full force. In February, the anticonsumer class action bill that ATLA had fought successfully for 6 1/2 years was signed into law.

This was only the first in a series of assaults on the rights of ordinary Americans that our opponents are launching on Capitol Hill. By the time you read this, these bills may be introduced or already the subject of debate on the House and Senate floors:

* Medical malpractice legislation has already been reintroduced. This bill would not only limit actions against doctors and hospitals; it would also restrict cases against HMOs, nursing homes, and health insurers, and it would give products liability protections to the makers and sellers of drugs and medical devices.

* Renewed efforts to eliminate the rights of asbestos victims are also on the front burner. As I write this, two hearings on an asbestos bill have already been held before the Senate Judiciary Committee this year.

* New legislation has been introduced that would restrict the rights of those who suffer vaccine-related injury and those injured by other products under certain circumstances.

* Late in the 108th Congress, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) introduced auto no-fault legislation. This bill, which would preempt state law, may be reintroduced in 2005.

ATLA has launched an aggressive strategy of grassroots outreach, public relations, and lobbying to deal with the current onslaught of anticonsumer legislation. Imagine what ATLA could do if every trial lawyer in the United States joined our organization. You can help us move toward that goal.

There is a proverb that says, "Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends." As a trial lawyer, you have a choice: Put up a fence, put your head down, and hope that the danger passes, or fight with your friends to preserve the civil justice system.

I ask you to enter this fight not as a follower, but as a leader, by enlisting your fellow trial lawyers. How? Recruit at least one new ATLA member by using the membership application on the following page.

The challenge

In some law firms, one lawyer is the "designated ATLA member" who receives TRIAL the Law Reporter, the ATLA L@w News Digest, and the Protecting Your Rights electronic newsletter and shares them with others in the office. If you are in such a firm, please strengthen ATLA--and furnish even more benefits for your colleagues--by signing up every trial lawyer in your office as an ATLA member.

If you are among the one-third of our members who are sole practitioners, I challenge you to look outside your firm and persuade a trial lawyer friend to join us. With every new member, ATLA becomes a stronger force against our opponents, while ATLA's many practice resources help members become stronger advocates.

By encouraging your friends to join ATLA, you do them a favor: In addition to receiving TRIAL and the Law Reporter, your colleagues will gain access to many invaluable benefits:

* Highly focused ATLA Education programs lot plaintiff trial lawyers, such as the upcoming seminar on auto collision cases at Jazz Fest, the Case Workshop Program, and convenient teleseminars on cutting-edge topics like Vioxx and the FDA.

* Eighteen practice sections that offer education programs, newsletters, member directories, and list servers that let you access case information, court documents, and advice from other trial lawyers in an instant.

* Unparalleled education and networking opportunities at ATLA's two members-only conventions each year.

* More than 70 litigation groups on topics including Vioxx, insurance bad faith, birth trauma, Rezulin, inadequate security, mandatory arbitration, electronic discovery, and Daubert.

* The ATLA Exchange, which provides access to thousands of court documents--including expert depositions, briefs, motions, discovery requests, and pleadings--as well as litigation packets, internal corporate documents, and verdict and settlement data.

And remember, you can be most effective in protecting your clients' rights by becoming an active member of both ATLA and your state trial lawyer association. Your participation at both the state and national levels will make a critical difference.

ATLA and our affiliated state organizations truly are in the fight of our lives. We will prevail with your help and the help of your friends. That's why I urge you to tear out or copy the membership application on the next page and walk it down the hall, fax it, or mail it to a trial lawyer who is not an ATLA member. Or have your friends join at www.atla.org. Please help make ATLA stronger by helping us grow today.