Victory - and the work ahead.

Civil justice was the big winner in the 2006 midterm elections, as Americans voted for change.

Strong, courageous candidates for the U.S. House and Senate, including a record number of trial attorneys, stood up to powerful politicians who explicitly and viciously attacked the civil justice system. Thirteen trial attorneys, like ATLA Board of Governors member Bruce Braley of Iowa, were elected to the House and three to the Senate. No pro-civil-justice Republican was defeated.

And some of the most vociferous advocates of eliminating Americans' right to hold wrongdoers accountable, like Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), were turned out of office.

Although the dismal situation in Iraq was clearly the issue that most concerned voters, the election of the most pro-civil-justice Congress in at least a dozen years busted the myth that subverting the Seventh Amendment is somehow good politics. This election proves that the scare tactics and propaganda of the opponents of civil justice do not resonate with voters.

You made it happen. Your votes and your participation in this critical election made it happen.

Your contributions made it happen--contributions to individual candidates and to ATLA PAC. The PAC supported 296 candidates for the House and Senate, and ATLA members individually contributed much more to pro-civil-justice Senate candidates. And you embraced JusticeInsider.org, the online mechanism we launched on September 6 that tracked unprecedented individual contributions by ATLA members to 41 pro-civil-justice House candidates.

Your volunteering as poll watchers on election day made it happen. ATLA's Election Protection Program, coordinated with other national organizations, helped ensure that no one legally entitled to vote was denied that right.

And your support of ATLA's strong new direction and aggressive Fight for Justice Communications Campaign--including television, radio, print, and Internet ads against candidates and officeholders who would eviscerate civil justice--made it happen.

Democrats won a convincing majority in the House of Representatives and picked up six seats in the Senate, winning a 51-49 majority.

The new leaders in Congress recognize that when corporate CEOs abuse their power by denying access to quality health care, pollute our environment and endanger public health, or swindle their employees out of their pensions to pad their profits, the last resort for Americans to hold them accountable is in our courts.

Government for the people

With this election, the American people have begun to take back their government from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, big oil companies, and other large corporations that have come to dominate our political process.

The efforts of ATLA and the trial lawyer community to elect pro-civil-justice candidates--and to defeat those who have partnered with corporate CEOs to undermine the legal rights of our citizens--were unprecedented. Defenders of civil justice have earned a victory lap.

But after the celebrations, we must recognize that the fight is by no means over. Already, the corporate CEOs and their agents in the administration and Congress are plotting new ways to subvert Americans' legal rights in order to avoid accountability and bolster corporate profits.

We must remain deeply involved in the political and legislative process. We must develop and enhance ongoing relationships with members of Congress--Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We must attend their town hall meetings and fund-raisers.

We and our clients must let them know how important it is to vote the right way--for everydayAmericans, not corporate CEOs--on civil justice issues. And we must let members of Congress who do the right thing know that the trial bar and our clients appreciate and support their work.

You can be sure that ATLA--soon to become known by our new name, the American Association for Justice--will remain vigilant.

When we ask for your help, we want you to think about this election and about the progress we have made in just the last couple of years. We want you to think about how important civil justice is to everything in which we, as Americans, believe.

Standing up for civil justice and the constitutional rights of Americans is a full-time job. Together, the American Association for Justice and its members can not only replicate the success of this election, but also begin to reverse the erosion of rights that threatens us all.