Washington Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Regan Zambri & Long Law Firm : DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog

Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, founding member and partner

"No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom" - The theme for Law Day 2012 emphasizes the importance of the courts and their role in ensuring access to justice for all Americans.

 As the president of the American Bar Association summarized the 2012 Law Day theme, "America's courtrooms must be open to keep the wheels of justice turning. Even the most eloquent constitution is worthless with no one to enforce it." From 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day, until the present, the events surrounding Law Day have focused on teaching the general public about the importance of the law on society and how it affects the everyday lives of all of us.  What makes the United States unique in the world is its justice system.  Because of funding shortages and cutbacks in court funding, serious impacts on individual access to justice could become more evident. 

The American Bar Association is devoting Law Day 2012 to raising awareness of the vital importance of our courts and the need to keep them open and accessible. The 2011 nonpartisan ABA Task Force on the Preservation of the Justice Systems stated, “Given their historic role as the protectors of the least advantaged in our nation, the courts have rightly been called ‘Society’s Emergency Room.’ And never is that title so warranted as in times of economic distress. The same recession that has led legislatures to reduce access to our justice system has obviously increased the numbers of people who need it.” 

For further information and ideas for Law Day activities and events, you may reference the American Bar Association's Law Day 2012 Planning Guide. 

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About the author:

Mr. Zambri is a board-certified civil trial attorney by the National Board of Trial Advocates and a Past-President of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. The association recently named him "Trial Lawyer of the Year" (2011). He has been rated by Washingtonian magazine as a "Big Gun" and among the "top 1%" of all lawyers in the Washington metropolitan area. The magazine also describes him as "one of Washington's best--most honest and effective lawyers" who specializes in personal injury matters, including automobile accident claims, premises liability, product liability, medical malpractice, and work-accident claims. He has successfully litigated multiple cases against truck and bus companies, the Washington Metropolitan Area transit Authority, and other automobile owners. His law firm, in fact, has obtained the largest settlement ever in a personal injury case involving WMATA. Mr. Zambri has also been acknowledged as one of "The Best Lawyers in America" by Best Lawyers (2011 edition) and has been repeatedly named a "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyer magazine (March/April 2010)-- national publications that honor the top lawyers in America.

If you have any questions about your legal rights, please email Mr. Zambri at szambri@reganfirm.com or call him at 202-822-1899.

Posted by Catherine Bertram                                          

A wonderful quote from Charles Dickens.  With the holidays right around the corner, in addition to giving thanks and spending time with family and friends, we think about what we can do to help those who are less fortunate.  We have a family tradition that involves our children.  On Christmas Eve, we each bring a suggestion of a charity to the dinner table and the family decides together which ones we will give to for Christmas.   As the children have grown, they have even started to do some research on the Internet about various options.  After the holidays, then we watch what the charity does, as well as how it relates to current events, and talk about it at the dinner table.  I think it has made our children feel more involved and empowered in an age where watching the news can be rather overwhelming even for adults.      

Charitable giving is even more critical now given the challenges in our economy.  According to Charity Navigator, an excellent source of information on non-profit organizations, 86% of the non-profits surveyed in 2009 reported that the economy was having a "negative" or "very negative" effect on the services they were able to provide.

Charity Navigator is an excellent tool to use to find charities that spark passion in your heart.  Below are a couple of the charities, listed in no particular order for you to consider:

Helping our Nation's Vets and their families - Fisher House Foundation

Feeding the Hungry - Second Harvest and Salvation Army

Educating Our Children - Mr. Holland's Opus

Literacy - First Book

Of course, these are just a few of choices out there.  There are also countless faith-based organizations.   You can also consider your local humane society, public libraries, arts organizations and homeless shelters.  

I will conclude with this thought:

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else."

Peyton Conway March