The state of the IADC.

• Author: Sinclair, J. Walter
• Position: International Association of Defense Counsel's impact on the civil justice system - President's Page

IAM pleased to report that the International Association of Defense Counsel is sound, both fiscally and operationally. As part of the new strategic plan, the IADC is focused and active.

Judicial Rules and Legislative Activities

The IADC officers have been working with Lawyers for Civil Justice on numerous judicial rule-making issues. The most significant are (1) the confidentiality and protective order rules being proposed in both federal and state courts and (2) the proposed Federal Rules of Civil Procedure revisions dealing with electronic discovery. In February, I attended the Fordham Law School E-Discovery Conference organized by the Civil Rules Advisory Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference and submitted a position paper from the IADC recommending certain rule changes. Will Cleveland has been leading the IADC efforts relating to confidentiality agreements and protective orders.

On a related front, George Hodges and I have been attending the American Board of Trial Advocates American Civil Trial Bar Roundtable in Washington, D.C. In March, we were able to discuss with Robert Grey, the president-elect of the American Bar Association, the IADC's potential involvement in the ABA's program entitled "The American Jury: Democracy by the Dozen." In view of the experience and materials we have developed over the years in our own National Jury Trial Innovations Project and our renewed Jury of Our Peers compendium, President-elect Grey requested our assistance on this important project. This is an area where our prior experience will assist us in participating in future discussions of the American jury system.

The IADC is active and engaged in both judicial and legislative matters that affect our members, their practices and our clients and their businesses, lf there is an area in which you would like to see us involved, please let us know. Our Legislative, Judicial and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Ed Pickle, is making great progress on a number of fronts and we would welcome your involvement in these activities.

The IADC is truly making an impact on the civil justice system.

Diversity

Our diversity program is experiencing unprecedented success, thanks to the members of our very dedicated and hard-working Diversity Committee, who are truly focused and committed to making a difference. We have approved invitations for 34 diversity candidates in the last six months, and we have an equally sizeable list under review, including some...