Transcripts

As Public Justice undergoes another significant change in the organization’s evolution, the Emeritus Board and Chair Sandy Dumain sought to ensure that the hard work and passionate dedication of the founders and leaders over the past four decades are not lost to history.

In addition to recording new interviews with Ralph Nader and Joan Claybrook – key figures in launching what became Trial Lawyers for Public Justice – the Emeritus Legacy Project decided to extend and re-edit interviews conducted for the historic overview presented during the 40^th Anniversary Gala on July 18, 2022. 

In some cases, the outtakes – segments edited out of the video interviews – revealed interesting forgotten stories, such as how many of the founders were veterans; in later years, older Board members jokingly called new “Young Turk” board members “Larry” instead of learning their names; and how Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg seemed to know and enthusiastically speak about Public Justice cases. 

This section of the Emeritus Board Legacy Project also includes profiles of several past presidents and staff, links to Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Newsletters and Press Releases and Documents such as Ralph Nader’s original June 1980 speech and articles written by Bill Trine on reforming the justice system.

As illustrated here, the legacy of these women and men of Public Justice is a passionate commitment to fighting for the vulnerable for whom access to justice is too often denied.