In the aftermath of the sharpest court budget cuts in California’s history, plaintiffs’ trial lawyer Michael Alder of AlderLaw, P.C. in Beverly Hills assumed the office of president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the nation’s largest local association of plaintiffs’ attorneys, which is made up of roughly 3,000 attorneys.

“Consumer lawyers are vital, now more than ever, to protecting the civil rights of people who’ve been left without access to judicial relief, which is just about everyone except the super-rich,” said Alder. “Legal bills add up to astronomical sums very quickly, because litigation is such an intensive process. Without lawyers who work on a contingency fee basis, which means they risk their own money instead of the clients’ and agree not to be paid unless they win the case, even people with big incomes quickly find their resources drained when faced with the large legal bills that result from a contested matter. Consumer lawyers must be prepared to provide leadership, vision and most of all integrity.”

Alder is regarded as a steadfast advocate of plaintiffs’ lawyers, also referred to as consumer lawyers, working to raise public awareness of their importance at a time of corporate fraud and abuse. He’s been a member of CAALA for 14 years and spearheaded a city-wide billboard campaign to fund billboards that highlight the good that consumer lawyers do for society. He also is one of five founding members of the Trial Lawyers Charities, a non-profit group which donates money along with legal services to individuals in need throughout Los Angeles.

Alder is presently conducting some of the most cutting-edge litigation efforts in the nation. He has tried at least seventy lawsuits within his position and obtained in excess of $140 million in decisions and settlements for his valued clients in the year 2011 alone. Lately, in December last year he earned a nearly $33 million verdict for Concept Chaser, Co., Inc. in the advertising fraud case Concept Chaser Co., Inc. v. Pentel of America Ltd.

CAALA officially installed Alder as its 2012 president on Jan. 21 at its 63rd Annual CAALA Installation & Awards Banquet at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. The group also announced its new officers and Board of Governors. For more information, visit www.caala.org.

AlderLaw, P.C. is a Los Angeles criminal attorney and plaintiffs’ law firm that represents plaintiffs in personal injury, business tort and employment litigation nationwide. The firm was founded in 2000 by attorney Michael Alder, current president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and past CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year. Alder has tried more than 70 cases in his career, and works with a team of seven associate attorneys. AlderLaw, P.C. obtained more than $140 million in verdicts and settlements for its clientele in 2011. For information, visit www.alderlaw.com.