Clifford Law Offices Liaison Counsel in the Property Damage Claims Involving World Trade Center Collapse in New York

Robert A. Clifford and Timothy S. Tomasik, partners at Clifford Law Offices, are serving as the liaison counsel in the property damage claims in the destruction of buildings one and two of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The nationally renowned firm in Chicago is serving as the spokesperson for all of the interests that lost property after al Qaeda terrorists hijacked and piloted the two Boeing 767 aircraft that slammed into the 110-story steel structures on 9/11.  Numerous lawsuits were filed against American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways for their multiple failures in properly screening the terrorists that eventually boarded AA Flight 11 and Flight 175. These complex suits are brought on behalf of insurance companies and business interests from around the globe who suffered billions of dollars in losses after the twin towers collapsed that fateful morning, permanently wiping them from the New York skyline.

Robert A. Clifford was appointed Chair of the American Bar Association Task Force on Terrorism and the Law.  Its charter was to bring the legal scholarship and expertise of the ABA and its members in assisting political leaders in their analysis of the complex and myriad legal issues arising out of the disaster.  He, therefore, recused himself from representing those involved in any legal action as well as in recovery from the Victims’ Compensation Fund to avoid any conflicts or appearance of impropriety.

The Task Force submitted written comments on the U.S. Patriot Act, the Airline Stabilization Act and the Victims’ Compensation Fund as well as eavesdropping on detainees and their lawyers, and military tribunals and commissions.  Its work demonstrated “the necessity and obligation of the profession to make itself relevant to the changing legal landscape,” Clifford wrote in an ABA publication a year after the 9/11 disaster. 

 Robert Clifford has been involved in every major commercial airline crash in the last 30 years.