Association of Defense Trial Attorneys Names Tait President-Elect

Robert E. Tait, a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Vorys), was named president-elect of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) during the association’s 67th Annual Meeting in April. Tait, who will serve a one-year term beginning in the spring of 2009, will follow in the footsteps of Vorys’ long-time managing partner, the late John Elam, who was president in 1968.

The ADTA invites only one defense trial attorney to be a prime member per one million in population for each city, town or municipality across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. A defense trial attorney who is an ADTA prime member is held in the highest regard by his or her peers.

Tait, a member of Vorys’ litigation practice group, has completed more than 100 jury trials and has served as lead counsel in numerous toxic tort class actions, specifically radiation and chemical exposures. He also has been involved in employer intentional tort and products liability cases and has briefed and argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

“We are extremely proud of Bob and his accomplishments,” said Russell M. Gertmenian, managing partner of Vorys. “The ADTA is the preeminent, international defense trial attorney association, and we are honored that Bob has ascended through the leadership ranks to become president of the organization.”

Tait has been a member of the ADTA since 1986 and has served as a member of the executive and long range planning committees as well as vice president and treasurer.  He is also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Defense Research Institute and the Department of Energy Contractor Counsel Association.