5 Years Later, Trial Lawyers Care

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Ten days after the attacks of 9-11, Congress created the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. That same day, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), through then president Leo V. Boyle, wrote Congress with the promise to provide "free legal services to any family wishing to pursue justice through the fund established by this unprecedented, humanitarian legislation." The program developed by ATLA was called Trial Lawyers Care. Through Trial Lawyers Care more than 1,100 attorneys provided free legal representation to over 1,700 victim families, making TLC the largest pro bono project in the history of the American legal system. The project culminated in the report to Congress titled Thousands of Hereos.

Since concluding the September 11th victims project, the lawyers of ATLA have used Trial Lawyers Care to establish the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund as a way to collect and distribute aid along to Gulf Coast, and to help the international victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. Five years later on this day where so many lives were changed forever, ATLA and its members remain proud of the work done through Trial Lawyers Care, and stand ready to help with similar projects in the future.