Thank you for being part of AAJ’s Community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established guidelines for participation.
By joining and using this community, I agree to the terms and conditions set forth below as an agreement between myself and the American Association for Justice (AAJ) regarding my participation in and the use of the information shared in AAJ’s connected community platform (aaj.connectedcommunity.org) , including but not limited to list servers, document libraries, community website, and document databases/AAJ Exchange. This agreement supersedes any previous similar agreements between me and AAJ.
Policies for Participation in AAJ’s Discussion Forums and List Servers
Policies for Accessing Exchange and Document Library Information
Remember the Risks Whenever You Use the Internet
While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition, other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through our site have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.
Questions should be directed to listmanager@justice.org.
Policies for Participation in AAJ’s Discussion Forums and List Servers
I understand that the use of the List Servers is a privilege of AAJ membership which may be revoked if I breach the terms of this agreement or if at any time it is determined that my participation on AAJ list servers does not support AAJ’s mission.
ENFORCEMENT--List server and discussion forum access shall be enforced by the List Server Subcommittee ("Subcommittee") of the AAJ Section and Litigation Group Coordination Committee ("SLGCC"). The Subcommittee has the authority to moderate or suspend my access to the List Servers. I have the right to appeal the suspension to the SLGCC.I take full personal responsibility for any actions performed using my Justice.org username and password and email address registered with the American Association for Justice.
USE OF INFORMATION—I have the right to make all information that I post to any List Server available to my AAJ colleagues and accept full responsibility for any copyright infringement or any other legal actions which may be brought against AAJ as a result of information that I post. Further, my AAJ colleagues may use the information subject to the conditions and restrictions placed on them by the provisions below. AAJ, the AAJ Exchange, or their successors may load this information into searchable databases or otherwise provide this information for fees or other consideration to AAJ members and/or Exchange users. My name, address, and other contact information may be included in these searchable databases or other information collections.
COMMERCIAL PURPOSES—Under no circumstances will I use information obtained from AAJ’s List Servers for commercial purposes that are not connected with the practice of law on behalf of a client or the administration and management of my law office.
I will not upload or download information obtained from the List Servers, archives, or document databases into any other document, database, or information retrieval system except for those directly under my control and used solely to support the litigation efforts in which I am engaged or the administration and management of my law office.
I will not solicit clients through the AAJ List Servers. I will not utilize AAJ’s List Servers to advertise programs or activities that are not sponsored by AAJ or one of its state TLA partner organizations. This includes announcements of other organizations’ CLE programs, publications, or services.
I will not market to List Server users for any profit-making venture. I will not offer items for sale for profit through the List Servers except in connection with the administration and management of my law office.
I will not market items for sale for charitable activities or organizations through AAJ List Servers. I will not sell or disseminate any listings of AAJ users to any person or entity (profit or nonprofit). I will not provide any copy, electronic or otherwise, of List Server communications or the identity of participants to any other person or entity, except to participants.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT—
I will conform to appropriate standards of conduct at all times on AAJ’s List Servers. These standards include but are not limited to the following:
- I will not post or respond to messages that contain obscene, offensive, inflammatory, libelous, derogatory language, and/or personal attacks.
- I will post messages to the appropriate forum to ensure that my message reaches an audience interested in that type of message. I will direct miscellaneous postings that may be unfit for subject matter List Servers to the AAJ Members’ Meetroom List Server.
- I will not exploit AAJ’s List Server to solicit participation of AAJ members in non-AAJ administered list servers or activities.
- I will not post non-substantive replies, including messages that indicate a simple “yes/no, me too, I agree/I disagree, or thank you,” without substantive elaboration. I will search the archive before requesting that an attachment be recirculated.
- To improve clarity, I will edit replies before posting them to a List Server, including deleting all irrelevant information which add to the “noise” content of the message, such as headers, footers, security notices, and extraneous quoted material from the original message.
- I will not post messages regarding legislative, regulatory, or other advocacy efforts that are contrary or could be deemed contrary to AAJ’s mission or run counter to AAJ’s strategic objectives.
- I will not post messages asking that my notification settings be changed and will manage my email settings through AAJ’s community site, aaj.connectedcommunity.org. These settings are available under Community Notifications in My Profile.
RELEASING MESSAGES—I will not forward or distribute List Server messages to non-subscribers, and I will not copy (CC or BCC) non-subscribers on my messages. I will not allow others to use or access my list server subscription(s). These materials are intended for the exclusive use of AAJ members representing plaintiffs in civil actions or defendants in criminal actions. I will not furnish materials to a defendant, defense interest, criminal prosecutor, or any other person not assisting in my case, except as required under the law. I understand that any information I send out to list server participants may be subject to disclosure in discovery and that AAJ recommends not including anything in a list server message that would be harmful to my client’s case if obtained by opposing counsel. If the materials are requested to be produced during discovery, I am urged to oppose the discovery on relevancy and other appropriate grounds and contact AAJ. As with any website, I understand that Justice.org and its discussion List Servers should not be regarded as a secure system and should not be used for anything confidential in nature.
ACCESS TO SECTION LIST SERVERS—Access to a Section List Server is limited to Section members who are Regular, Sustaining, Life, and President’s Club members, and sponsored Paralegal Affiliates and Law Professors and do not practice defense work in the Section’s specific area of practice. Membership in a Section entitles members to access only that Section’s list server.
ACCESS TO MEDMAL LIST SERVER—Access to the AAJ Medmal list server is limited to AAJ members who are Regular, Sustaining, Life, and President’s Club members, and sponsored Paralegal Affiliates who, while participating on the AAJ Medmal list server, will not represent or work for any insurance company, hospital, physician, self-insured defendant in tort or workers’ compensation matters, and/or any other comparable entity in any medical negligence case, and will not for any portion of his or her practice represent defense interests of any kind—excluding the representation as personal counsel of a physician in a case which involves potential liability in excess of the physician’s insurance coverage. A member whose practice, temporarily or permanently, does not meet these criteria, is obliged to inform AAJ at listmanager@justice.org of this change in status within ten days of said change and will be removed from access or participation in this list server.
If, based on the above, you are ineligible for the AAJ Medmal list server, but nonetheless want to participate, you may appeal your removal to the Section and Litigation Group List Server Subcommittee. Please contact AAJ at listmanager@justice.org for more information.
PARALEGAL AFFILIATE USE—In addition to all other provisions in this policy, paralegal affiliates shall comply with the following to ensure that each paralegal participates under the general direction of an AAJ attorney: When posting a message on any List Server, the paralegal’s List Server communication shall include language that the paralegal affiliate’s communication is under the general direction of the attorney, and include the paralegal’s name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. All additional identifying information is prohibited.
An example of such a signature is as follows:
Terry Doe, paralegal
This communication is under the general direction of John Smith, the sponsoring attorney of Terry Doe
1234 Main Street
Anytown, USA
(123) 456-7890
Each paralegal affiliate shall be sponsored by an AAJ voting member and the sponsoring information shall be verified annually by AAJ. Each paralegal affiliate properly sponsored by an AAJ voting member may participate on the Discussion Forum List Server. For a paralegal affiliate to participate on a Section List Server, the sponsoring attorney and the paralegal affiliate shall be a member of at least one Section. For a paralegal affiliate to participate on a Litigation Group List Server, provided that the Litigation Group allows paralegal affiliate members, the sponsoring attorney shall be a member of that Litigation Group.
DEFENSE USE PROHIBITED—I am aware that any use of materials obtained from Justice.org to assist in the defense of a civil action or the prosecution of a criminal action is explicitly prohibited and any such use may expose the persons using these materials in such a manner to ethical sanctions by AAJ and/or the appropriate state or local bar association.
I will direct all messages for AAJ Staff requesting assistance, information, or to unsubscribe from a list to listmanager@justice.org rather than to the List Servers.
IDENTIFICATION—Every message that I send through the List Servers will be accompanied by information adequate to identify myself, which shall include as a minimum, my name, firm name, city, state, and e-mail address. With the posting of each message to AAJ’s List Servers, I certify that I continue to be qualified for Regular AAJ membership.
Policies for Accessing Exchange Search Information
AAJ Exchange documents or records ("items") obtained from the Exchange web site contain one or more of the following: case abstracts, legal references, experts, verdicts and settlements, instances of litigation abuse, documents, depositions, speaker papers, and other inquirers listings from Exchange databases. For further information about any cases mentioned in the abstracts, inquirers listings, and expert or other listings, members must contact the court or the lawyer listed as counsel. These items are not available to the public or to the general AAJ Membership.
Conditions of Use—I certify that any query is made on behalf of a plaintiff (or a defendant in a criminal case) and I am in no way associated with any defendants or defense interests in this matter ("defense interests"). I certify that I am a Regular, Sustaining, Life, or President's Club member of AAJ, or an employee of such an attorney member ("Exchange member"), and that I seek admission to this Web site for the sole and exclusive purpose of assisting clients of my law firm in the prosecution of their cases, and for the purpose of sharing knowledge of our firm with other attorneys concerned on behalf of their clients with common questions of law and fact. Since I am making an Exchange request, I allow my name and case summary to be added to the Exchange database. By using the AAJ Exchange, I agree to respond when contacted by other members investigating cases similar to my case summary and to share case information and documents with those members.
Privileged Attorney Work Product—Information on this Web site is being provided to me on a customized basis as an Exchange Member of AAJ for the limited purpose of use in the prosecution of my client's rights in a particular civil case (or the defense of my client's rights in a particular criminal case), and consultation on common questions of law and fact. By requesting this information, I acknowledge that the customized results I receive become my attorney work-product, as the Exchange Web site and/or the Exchange staff operate solely as my agents in compiling information for my case. The items I download or have shipped to me become my work product; they are prepared in anticipation of litigation and are intended for my exclusive use.
Disclosure—Any and all Exchange items and communications SHALL NOT be disclosed to nonmembers of AAJ, a member of AAJ who could directly or indirectly be identified as representing a defense interest, a defendant, a criminal prosecutor, or any other person not assisting in your case. Exchange materials may not be resold under any circumstance. In particular, it must be emphasized that Exchange users are not to disclose information upon a Request for Production of Documents or a Motion to Compel Discovery. Exchange materials SHALL NOT be disclosed in this type of a judicial process, without first asserting all available defenses against production including (but not limited to) (a) A defense arguing that my selection of Exchange materials represents my Work Product; (b) A defense arguing that any and all corporate documents acquired directly or indirectly through the Exchange (and now sought by the defense) are accessible at less cost and greater efficiency by contacting the corporation itself; (c) A defense arguing that disclosing Exchange materials before trial and early in the discovery process is premature, as I have not yet determined what Exchange materials, if any, will be used at trial.
Additionally, the Exchange recommends you contact defense counsel, and inform defense counsel that if Exchange materials are sought, you will seek similar materials that defense counsel has acquired through the Defense Research Institute, the Products Liability Counsel, and all other defense-side litigation support entities you can identify. If your Exchange materials are requested by any of the aforementioned interests, it is essential to preserve the privilege you may properly assert. Accordingly, if your materials are requested, or if you have questions about the production of Exchange materials, contact AAJ immediately.