Appointment Positions Kane for 2016 Presidency and Continues Law Firm’s Tradition of Serving the Civil Justice System
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (July 16, 2015) – Colson Hicks Eidson partner Julie Braman Kane has been elected president-elect of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the world’s largest trial bar and leading defender of civil justice, and will become president at the 2016 Convention in Los Angeles, CA. Kane, who previously served as vice president, was sworn in as president-elect at the organization’s annual convention in Montreal, Canada on July 13th.
Based in Washington, D.C., AAJ (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), works to ensure that people have access to the civil justice system when harmed by the negligence or misconduct of others. For more than 65 years, AAJ has been the collective voice of the trial bar and its clients on Capitol Hill and in courthouses across the nation.
“Julie’s leadership will be essential as we fight to advance AAJ’s mission in Congress, the courts, and in the arena of public opinion,” said AAJ President Larry Tawwater.
Kane’s appointment continues the Coral Gables-based law firm’s tradition of serving the civil justice system. Colson Hicks Eidson co-founder, Bill Colson, served as president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America from 1964-1965 and partner, Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, served as president from 2006-2007.
“I have had the honor to work with Julie for more than 20 years, and it has been a pleasure to watch her grow as both as a trial lawyer and a leader with the American Association for Justice,” said Eidson, president of Colson Hicks Eidson and past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. “We are extremely proud that she will continue the firm’s tradition of supporting AAJ’s mission to protect the right to trial by jury.”
“I am honored to be elected by my peers as President-Elect and to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors, including Bill Colson and Mike Eidson,” said Kane. “I have witnessed firsthand the impact of AAJ, having represented clients that otherwise would not have access to the civil justice system, and I look forward to advancing the organization’s mission in the coming two years.”
A champion of civil justice, Kane has been actively involved with AAJ for more than 20 years, having served as vice president, secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian. She has also served as a member of its Executive and Budget Committees and chair of its National Finance Council, Products Liability Section, Women’s Caucus and Diversity Task Force. Kane also initiated and chaired the Association’s Voter Protection Action Committee which provides lawyers in all fifty states to protect the voting rights of American citizens whose access to the polls is otherwise limited.
In addition to her service with the AAJ, Kane serves on the board of directors for the Florida Justice Association. She previously served as a commissioner on the Florida Elections Commission and as president of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. She has also served as a trustee on the Justice PAC Board and as co-chair of the National College of Advocates.
Throughout her career, Kane has earned multiple accolades for her skills, her leadership and her dedication to community members, consumers and the trial bar. She is a past recipient of the Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyers Award for Receiverships, and was a finalist for medical malpractice litigation. She was named a 2010 Woman Extraordinaire by South Florida Business Leader and is a past recipient of the AAJ’s Distinguished Service Award, the Howard Twiggs Commitment to Justice Award, the Marie
Lambert Award for leadership, the Joe Tonahill service award, and multiple Weideman Wysocki awards. She also received the University of Miami’s Law Alumni Leadership Award, given to attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their careers and who serve as role models for the next generation.
An AV-rated trial lawyer, Kane concentrates her practice on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation as well as in commercial, class and mass actions. Throughout her 22-year career, she has secured multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for victims of negligence, including a $38 million verdict in a medical malpractice case.
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About Colson Hicks Eidson
The Law Firm of Colson Hicks Eidson is a trial firm with more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305-476-7400.
About the American Association for Justice
As the world’s largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. For more information, visit www.justice.org.