President's Page:IADC Pride: Our Members

Abstract

While it would be easy to identify numerous examples of IADC Pride among our membership, I believe IADC members' time and commitment to merits special attention and acknowledgment. No other group affected iCivics' success in the beginning more than the International Association of Defense Counsel. IADC members served, and continue to serve, as a foundation of support for our Chairs in the states. The IADC provides funding to train teachers, visit classrooms and gathers community leaders to talk about the importance of civic education. Lawyers, who are by definition of the courts, have a special responsibility to serve as guardians, caretakers, and advocates of and for the justice system. And people who have earned the respect and trust of their community must take special care to reach behind and train the next generation how to be engaged, effective citizens. The IADC embraced the opportunity with to help educate our children as true officers of the court. IADC members are role models for others in their Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.) Justice O'Connor was certainly gracious in praising the LADC Foundation and IADC members for taking a leading role in making a positive impact on the civil justice system by volunteering their time to help educate the next generation about the three branches of government. All of us, as members of the IADC, should be proud of the accomplishments our organization has made to promote and serve the legal profession and the civil justice system. The successful partnership between the IADC Foundation and is an example of how IADC members are committed to giving back to our profession. During the 2009 Midyear Meeting, the IADC Foundation President, George Murphy, announced its partnership with what was then called Courts. At that time, the Our Courts program was a pilot program being used in only a handful of schools. It introduced lessons on the court system through interactive online games. The IADC Foundation provided some funding and worked closely with the leadership of Our Courts to create a paradigm by which we could most effectively use the IADC membership and associated resources to promote the use of Our Courts in schools throughout the country. As a testament to Justice O'Connor's vision and the clear need for education in this area, Our Courts quickly became iCivics and two online games turned into now 19 games plus an entire online library of resources and lesson plans for educators. IADC members helped solicit the support of each Chief Justice of the highest court in each state as well as other influential individuals by asking them to serve as the state Chair of the effort. Through the Justices' participation, endorsement and active support, many education leaders in different states started using these computer games in their civics and government class curriculum to teach students about our civil justice system. …