Association of Trial Lawyers of America

The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is an organization that represents trial lawyers across the United States. As the world’s largest trial bar, ATLA promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims’ rights, protects the right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety.
In 1946, a group of attorneys involved in workers’ compensation litigation founded the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys (NACCA), the predecessor to ATLA. The organization’s devotion to obtaining sound representation for victims of industrial accidents soon attracted admiralty, railroad, and personal injury lawyers from across the county. It wasn’t long before the group included attorneys engaged in almost all facets of trial advocacy. Today, ATLA is a comprehensive, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students. There are currently over 56,000 members.
The official mission of ATLA is multi-faceted. Its provisions include seeking justice for all, preserving the constitutional right to trial by jury, preventing injury from occurring, defending the cause of those who deserve redress for injury to person or property, promoting the public good through concerted efforts to secure safe products, a safe workplace, a clean environment, and quality health care, advancing the rule of law and the civil justice system, protecting the rights of the accused, inspiring excellence in advocacy through training and education, encouraging cooperation among members, advancing the common law and finest traditions of jurisprudence, and upholding the honor and dignity of the legal profession and the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America fosters the goals and dreams that make legal professionals “proud to be trial lawyers.”