NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us 

Edward Madeira Joins Lawyers Committee
 of National Court Reform Organization

Williamsburg, VA (March 18, 2004) – Edward “Ned” Madeira, chair emeritus and senior counsel to the firm Pepper Hamilton LLP, has joined the National Center for State Courts’ Lawyers Committee, which involves prominent practicing attorneys in the National Center’s work and programs. Committee members serve in a leadership role with a commitment to support the National Center’s mission to actively participate in outreach to the bench, bar and the legal community, and to encourage support for the National Center’s programs and initiatives. Inaugural meetings were held in Washington, D.C. and in San Francisco in conjunction with the midyear meeting of the Conference of Chief Justices.

Madeira, former chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, concentrated in civil litigation, including antitrust, product liability, and mass tort defense and related appellate practice. Madeira has addressed various conferences and seminars on product liability and defense management of mass tort litigation. His many activities in the American Bar Association have included serving as chair of the Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary and the Commission on State Judicial Selection Standards.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a non-profit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The National Center also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining best practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the National Center include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.

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