Our oath: defending the Constitution.

The Association of Trial Lawyers of America will celebrate its 50th anniversary next summer at our Annual Convention in Boston, the city of our birth. As lawyers for the people, we should hold our heads high and be proud as we look back at our record of professional service.

For 50 years we have answered Americans' cries for equal justice. For 50 years we have fought to preserve a unique legal system premised on justice rendered by the people. And for 50 years we have worked to improve the safety and quality of life of the American consumer.

We are currently engaged in what I know is a personally troubling and difficult struggle for each one of us as we fight to retain the American justice system. As this nation undergoes the most extraordinary upheaval witnessed in this century, there is no greater service that we can provide to the people we represent and to our nation than to unite and accept our responsibility to defend the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. This is the sacred oath of our profession.

Threats from the Hill

Members of Congress also take this sacred oath, yet many fail to show any understanding or appreciation of the importance of the principles and ideals set forth in our founding documents. Consider their record to date. They have proposed restricting access to justice for the poor by underfunding the legal Services Corp., and they have mounted assaults on the First and Fourth Amendments. For example, they have threatened to withhold funding from colleges that permit student groups to take public policy positions and have proposed allowing prayer in public schools. As for the Fourth Amendment, some seek to diminish the protections afforded by the exclusionary rule.

In addition, members of the 104th Congress have virtually declared war on civil justice in America by calling for drastic limitations on consumers' rights to seek redress through the tort system. Six bills are currently pending in Congress, including a proposal in the House Medicare bill that effectively grants immunity to the medical establishment for its negligence. We know that medical negligence is an epidemic that kills almost 100,000 Americans and seriously injures another 375,000 every year. We also know the civil justice system is the only effective safety net for the medical consumer. Yet, this bill calls for a national cap on damages, periodic payments for all awards above $50,000, and elimination of joint and several liability.

Some members are even trying to restrict civil justice through amendments to the tax code. These proposals would expand the definition of gross income to include awards for emotional distress and punitive damages. Finally, many members have launched a dishonest, venomous attack on the legal profession generally, and trial lawyers specifically.

Lessons from Dad

I am a first-generation American of Greek descent whose immigrant father instilled in me a love for my country that is beyond description. At the same time, my dad taught me about the heritage of my ancestors. At five years of age, I knew about democracy and citizen juries. I was proud that my ancestors were the source of both, and thus a source of this nation's greatness and goodness.

As a child, I went to the polls on election days with my father--in fact, in 1956, at the age of nine, I "voted" for Dwight D. Eisenhower. My dad sought to teach his daughters that democratic rights are both a privilege and an obligation. But his most important lesson was that Greek democracy was destroyed between the second and third centuries after its birth both by enemies without and, more importantly, by enemies within.

I used to believe that it could never happen here, but I am now very concerned, and so must you be. When the legal profession and this nation's justice system are held in such low esteem, our democracy and our freedom are greatly endangered.

What can you do? First, take a moment and consider the seamless web of political tyranny that constitutes the agenda of some of the very people elected to serve this country.

Second, accept that saving this nation's justice system is your responsibility. Recognize that it is time to get out from behind your desk and take your advocacy skills and oratory beyond the courtroom and into the halls of Congress and to the people of America, beginning with your clients.

Third, stand together with your colleagues, united as a community, all for one and one for all, while we strive for professional and ethical excellence. I am proud to be a lawyer, and I am proud of our profession.

If you think you don't have the time, can't make the time, please think about the final legacy of my ancestors. They lost their democracy and their freedoms. Consider this the next time you sit across the dinner table from your children or your grandchildren. Consider what such a loss would mean for them--and for all the children in generations to come.