Message from the President
Richard H. Deane, Jr.
2024-2025
Welcome to the website of the American College of Trial Lawyers. It is my great privilege to serve as President of the College for 2024-2025. If you have previously visited our site, you no doubt recognize that the website has been revamped and updated. Our hope is that you will find the site easier to navigate and generally more user-friendly.
As I begin my term as President, I have reflected on the outstanding leadership of my predecessor Bill Murphy, and I am fortunate to have the benefit of his counsel as he continues on the Executive Committee as Immediate Past President. Bill and his wife Pat were excellent ambassadors for the College.
The College was founded in 1950 and will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025. Plans are underway to commemorate that founding with special events during the year and particularly during our two national meetings in 2025. Leading up to the 75th anniversary celebration, the College recently approved a Strategic Plan which will help us to chart the College’s course for the future. Part of that planning included the adoption of a slightly revised Mission Statement, which is as follows:
The American College of Trial Lawyers strives to preserve and enhance trial practice, civility, professionalism, and the administration of justice through support of an independent judiciary, the rule of law, trial by jury, and access to justice.
The College is an invitation-only Fellowship of exceptional trial lawyers from the United States and Canada who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.
This core Mission motivates and animates all of our various work through committees, projects, white papers, and public statements. Our various general committees, which now total 40 in number, are all working on some aspect related to this Mission Statement. Whether it is honoring someone who has contributed significantly to the cause of justice or advancing the rule of law, improving the level of trial skills within the profession, offering insights on the advent of new technology, or encouraging and celebrating the accomplishments of law students, all of our committees are actively engaged, and we encourage all Fellows to find a place to contribute and support our Mission.
While the core of our Mission has not changed, how we pursue that Mission and adapt ourselves to changes in the profession and society at large are all areas that were reviewed during the strategic planning process. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Past President Sam Franklin for leading the strategic planning effort. In surveys conducted in advance of launching the strategic planning effort, we were greatly encouraged, but not too surprised, to find that some 94% of Fellows responding to the survey reported that they were pleased with and valued the College’s commitment to collegiality and fellowship. These are core values in the College: that Fellows will always treat each other with collegiality and respect. The acknowledgement and reaffirmation of these values by our Fellows is an encouraging sign that we have a strong foundation that has held us in good stead for 75 years and that we have much to build on for the future.
That is not to suggest that these are not challenging times. We see alarming attacks on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, and while we do not all have common views on how to address these issues, we have the benefit of those strong bonds of respect and collegiality as we navigate these challenges together.
So, if you are a Fellow, I encourage you to find a place where you can contribute and have your voice heard as we endeavor to maintain the College as the consequential organization it has become over the last 75 years.
I am honored to be the 75th President of the College and look forward to meeting many of you in the coming year as I attend state, province and regional meetings and dinners. As our late founder Emil Gumpert might have put it, I am delighted at the hope of “exalting our friendships.”