Major Hotel and Registration Discounts Announced

Colleagues:

I am looking forward to the Annual Convention in San Francisco, July 25–29, 2009—seeing old friends and making new ones. This national gathering of the plaintiff bar comes at a very important time for our association, and to make it easier for you attend, I’m pleased to announce some new cost saving initiatives. Attending the Annual Convention is now even friendlier to your bottom line!

The official convention hotels have drastically reduced their room rates for AAJ members, with some room types being reduced by nearly $50 per night. And for more savings, the $50 early bird registration discount has been extended. The deadline for reserving your hotel room and receiving the registration discount is June 26, 2009. Significant hotel and registration savings are now yours, but you must take advantage of them before the deadline.

I hope these deep savings have now convinced you to join the plaintiff community this summer in San Francisco. The contacts you will make, plus the strategies you will get from business meetings and continuing legal education programs, make this a must-attend event. What’s more, the keynote speakers and social and political events will keep you busy and engaged throughout the convention. Register now and reserve your hotel room before the June 26, 2009 deadline.

Register now for $50 savings at http://www.justiceannualconvention.org/
Reserve hotel room now for best rates and availability

I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco.

Sincerely,

Tom Henderson
CEO

Schedule of Events Announced for Youth Suite

This year's youth suite is focused on sports, sports, sports! Take part in creating and decorating your own team banner, make your own uniforms, decorate foam fingers and other sports memorabilia. Two Wii stations will be set up for Wii sports tournaments where you can show your skill in games ranging from tennis to bowling to soccer.

The suite will also feature daily in-room features such as a acting classes, hip hop dance classes, or take part in a potions and wonders chemistry workshop. There's something for everyone in the AAJ Youth Suite.

Click here for an outline of daily events in the suite.

Fred D Gray to speak during the Civil Rights Section Education Program

Veteran civil rights attorney Fred D. Gray’s legal career began in the midst of America’s modern-day civil rights movement. With a quiet demeanor, strong determination and secret commitment made in college, he vowed, "to become a lawyer, return to Alabama, and destroy everything segregated I could find."

Gray began his legal career as a sole practitioner, less than a year out of law school, and at age 24, he represented Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus—the action that initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Gray was also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first civil rights lawyer. This was the beginning of a legal career that now spans more than 45 years.

Gray has been at the forefront of changing the social fabric of America regarding desegregation; integration; constitutional law; racial discrimination in voting; housing; education; jury service; farm subsidies; medicine and ethics; and generally in improving the national judicial system.
Gray is senior partner at the law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray & Nathanson, which has offices in Tuskegee and Montgomery. In July 2002, he became the first African-American to hold the position of President of the Alabama Bar Association.”Fred D. Gray will be speaking Monday July 27, 2009, at the AAJ Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA, during the Civil Rights Section Education Program

David Frederick to Speak at AAJ Membership Luncheon

The American Association for Justice is pleased to welcome David Frederick as the invited keynote speaker at AAJ’s Membership Luncheon. Mr. Frederick is a partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans, & Figel P.L.L.C. His practice encompasses a broad array of subject matters including the American with Disabilities Act, antitrust, appellate and civil procedure, cable television rules, energy, foreign sovereign immunity, patent, preemption, RICO, riparian rights, securities, transportation, and tribal court jurisdiction. He has argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. He was an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice from 1996 to 2001. At the Membership Luncheon you will hear about Mr. Frederick’s recent success in Wyeth v Levine. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Vermont jury’s decision that Diana Levine, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, could hold the drug manufacturer accountable for the injuries she suffered—which included the loss of her arm—after taking one of Wyeth’s medicines.


Please join your colleagues at the Membership Awards Luncheon to honor winters of the prestigious Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Steven Sharp and the Pro-Bono Award

Governor Tim Kaine , Chairman, Democratic National Committee to speak at the AAJ Leadership Breakfast

The American Association for Justice is pleased to welcome Governor Tim Kaine as the keynote speaker at AAJ's Leadership Breakfast. For nearly twenty years, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine practiced civil rights law in the capitol city of Richmond.

His work representing plaintiffs in fair housing claims won him both local and national acclaim. Governor Kaine's legal career is indicative of a life-long commitment to serving people in need and creating positive change in people's lives through principled pragmatism.

Today, in addition to serving the people of Virginia, Governor Kaine chairs the Democratic National Committee, having accepted that post at the request of President Obama earlier this year.

The Leadership Breakfast is held in honor of the AAJ Endowment, Leaders Forum and President’s Club members, past AAJ Presidents, AAJ PAC Eagles and Friends of Justice.

This event is by invitation only.

NEW LAWYER DIVISION PARTY VENUE ANNOUNCED!

From NLD Committee Chair - Chris Glover

The NLD hosts a fantastic party at every convention and this year’s event at 1015 will be no exception. With a VIP room for sponsors, a DJ upstairs, and a band downstairs in a 20,000 square foot nightclub, this party will be a memorable evening of food, drink and fun.
Open to all attendees.

New Lawyers Division Party
Sunday, July 26
9:00 pm–until
1015

http://www.1015.com/
1015 Folsom Street

Opening Reception to be held at the California Academy of Sciences

Power in Networking
Join in on the AAJ Opening Reception. Meet up with colleagues, members you’ve known over the years, and meet new members. This is an opportunity to mix and mingle while taking in one of California’s most renowned newly renovated museums.

About the Academy -
Nearly 10 years and $500 million dollars in the making, it's finally here. The new Academy is a masterpiece in sustainable architecture, blends seamlessly into the park's natural setting, and is filled with hundreds of innovative exhibits and thousands of extraordinary plants and animals. It's as if the new Academy brings the whole universe under one roof - an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and more!

Tickets are included in the total convention registration package and are available for purchase.