New Trial Requirement: 7 Trials + 100 Points

On October 26, 2024, new minimum trial requirements for membership were approved at the National Board Meeting in Nashville which decreased the number of civil jury trials needed from 10 to 7 but requires additional trial experience from a combination of longer trials, criminal felony trials, and other methods. New members must now have a minimum of 7 civil jury trials to verdict or hung jury AND 100 points on the existing point system used for rank advancements. 

The deadline to submit nominations for 2025 membership consideration has passed. 

The feedback poll will be available shortly to collect initial member comments on the nominees.

The American Board of Trial Advocates Supports the
Rule of Law Against Dangerous Criticisms of the Judiciary

The highest authority in our country is not the offices of the President or Vice President; our Nation is founded on the premise that the highest authority in the land is the law. Our strength depends on the supremacy of the Rule of Law.

The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is staunchly committed to defending judges from unwarranted threats and to upholding the Rule of Law. Several recent statements issued by the Executive Office suggest that judges don't have jurisdiction over President Trump's decisions and executive orders. The public comments made by President Trump, Vice President Vance and Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which included personal attacks on judges, labeling judges as “corrupt,” and calls for impeachment of judges with whom they disagree, are contrary to the clear design of our constitutional architecture that ensures that our government is a limited one with each branch held in check by robust separation of powers.

Courts have temporarily halted a number of the recent Executive Orders on the grounds that they exceed the rightful bounds of the limits of the executive branch and encroach on the powers vested exclusively in the legislative branch of our government. The Executive Office and Elon Musk have responded that they may disregard the rulings of the courts. Such statements are impudent and wholly incompatible with the Constitution, which these officials all swore to uphold. Further, such bullying comments demean the judiciary and erode the public’s confidence in our judicial system and, ultimately, our democracy. ABOTA condemns these statements and tactics of our executive branch.

Some may ask: “Why is it so harmful when the judicial branch is demeaned or disregarded?” Our strength as a Nation is based on our freedom from oppression by government action. We, the people, through our consent set forth in the Constitution, granted enumerated and limited powers to the executive branch and empowered the judicial branch to make sure the actions of the executive branch do not exceed or abuse the authority of the office. Attacks on judges and the courts they serve threaten judicial independence, which is essential to sound decisions that maintain the balance of power. Simply put, if anyone can defy a court order, then everyone can defy a court order. If the limitations on the power of the executive branch can be set aside and abused under the guise of exposing corruption and fraud, they can be set aside and abused similarly for any purpose whatsoever.

“To whom much is given, much is required” reminds us all of the responsibility that comes with privilege and power. President Trump and Vice President Vance have been given great authority by the American people to discharge their duties of office, but with that authority comes the obligation to exercise it within the proper bounds established so wisely by our founders and set forth so eloquently in the Constitution. And our President has given great authority to Elon Musk, the owner of a major online platform company. As such, Mr. Musk is also tasked to act with great responsibility in his service to the American people and not to act irreverently or with bullying, political tactics designed to place our judges in personal danger if their decisions do not conform to the executive branch’s wishes. A profound and unalterable reverence for the Constitution and its structured balance of power should reside deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of all those who hold powerful governmental offices, indeed in all of us who are privileged to be citizens of this great Nation. Comments like those that we have seen recently about the judges and their decisions portray a lack of reverence for the Rule of Law and reflect poorly on those who utter them and, in turn, on our country.

ABOTA realizes and acknowledges that our country is not immune to spirited legal and political controversy. As lawyers, our members embrace, on a daily basis, the fact that opinions and positions will differ. To be sure, the country is founded in part on the idea of the freedom to dissent, but we recognize and revere our system of justice that is imbued with the weighty responsibility of resolving those disputes. We must safeguard the independence of that judicial system with vigilance. Our courts stand as the primary sentinels, guardians, and protectors of our liberty from excesses of power by the other branches of our government. In performing their jobs, judges deserve the respect of all in our society, most of all by those who have been placed in positions of power. We, as an organization of trial lawyers, stand against all forms of intimidation of our judges and against all efforts to diminish the supremacy of the Rule of Law.

Jennifer H. Doan
National President
American Board of Trial Advocates