Larry Stewart Tells Council "Trial Lawyers Care"

Following the longstanding tradition by which new Council members are invited to "introduce themselves" to the Council by making a short speech at one of their first Council Dinners, Florida native Larry S. Stewart addressed the Council members and their spouses and guests at the open-air Council Dinner held on December 9 in Key Biscayne, Florida. Mr. Stewart, a partner in the Miami law firm of Stewart Tilghman Fox & Bianchi, P.A., was the founder, first president, and CEO of Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. (TLC), the national nonprofit program for victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In that capacity, Mr. Stewart directed the largest pro bono legal-assistance program in the history of the United States, delivering free legal services to more than 1700 families. As ALI President Michael Traynor noted in his introduction of Mr. Stewart, TLC has received praise from members of Congress, victims’ families, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg (who will address the ALI Annual Dinner on May 17), and members of the media such as Don Imus and Chris Matthews.

In his speech to the Council, Mr. Stewart attributed his affinity for public-interest law to his working-class upbringing and his "outlaw genes," explaining that his ancestors may have come to colonial Georgia as felons from Scotland. His family had no ancestral connection to the law; his father drove a delivery truck. While growing up, Mr. Stewart fast learned this Golden Rule: "Them that has the gold makes the rules." He said that he decided to go to law school at the University of Florida, not to make gold, but to level the playing field of society by becoming a trial lawyer. He also described himself as an unabashed liberal, dedicated to social justice and civil rights.

In describing his involvement with TLC, Mr. Stewart stated that the Association of Trial Lawyers of America met immediately following the September 11 attacks to discuss what they could do as trial lawyers in response to the tragedy. On September 13, they called for a moratorium on lawsuits, in light of the unfavorable publicity that followed the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster because of solicitations by lawyers. On September 17, they went to Congress to oppose legislation that would grant immunity to the airlines. Their rallying cry was to not leave the victims behind, which directly led to the formation of a victims’ compensation fund. They then made a pledge to Congress to provide pro bono legal services for victims of the September 11 attacks.

"We had no experience, no offices, no money, no staff, no nothing, but we made the commitment," recalled Mr. Stewart. "We started work the following Monday and set up an organization that brought in lawyers from affected areas on the East Coast. We had thousands of lawyers across the United States volunteering, so we made sure that there was quality representation, and we set up rules requiring experience in years of practice and types of cases handled. We knew we would be criticized that this was just a gimmick to get business, so we had all the lawyers sign a pledge for themselves and their law firms that they would not take any fees for any work connected with 9/11, and we made out-of-state lawyers pay their own way to come to the East Coast to represent the victims. Three weeks after 9/11, we opened for business."

Mr. Stewart said that money was a huge problem for TLC at first, but the September 11th Fund and the Red Cross came forward with the bulk of the necessary funding. A victim-outreach program was launched, and TLC sent representatives to meetings of every 9/11 group to explain its program. TLC also contacted every victim’s employer and the embassy of every foreign victim. The organization was widely publicized on the web and in addition distributed 6000 print brochures.

"At first our critics said, ‘You get what you pay for,’" recalled Stewart. "We had to make sure TLC lawyers gave the best representation. We drafted and handed out a free 300-page handbook on how to handle these cases. We put on seminars all over the Northeast. We had listservs to share information. . . . The initial TLC decisions were favorable — they broke the ice and the program was off and running. Ninety-eight percent of eligible people came into the victim-compensation program."

Mr. Stewart stated that the program was a huge success and that TLC’s clients received, on average, $500,000 net more than those 9/11 victims who hired for-fee lawyers to try their cases. He gave credit to the volunteer lawyers: "The real heroes were the 1100 attorneys from every state, as well as from such foreign countries as England, Mexico, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Over $200 million of legal services were given for free, with $2.2 billion recovered for 1700 victims’ families. Every penny went to the victims’ families."

Concluding his talk, Mr. Stewart asked Council members to remember the efforts of TLC and its volunteer attorneys, especially in light of the public-relations hit that lawyers may take in the near future. Mr. Stewart said, "The demonization of trial attorneys will increase tremendously in the coming months and years, as efforts are made to make trial lawyers the goats driving the "tort reform" train. After 9/11, the trial attorneys stood up around this country and did a lot of remarkable things for people. I hope you will remember that."

New Council member Larry Stewart addresses the Council at its December dinner.