Most of us (that were alive back then) experienced 9/11 via our TV sets. David Horrigan was at Ground Zero that day. As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, David provides his recollections of that day.

David’s article on Legaltech news (The 25th Anniversary of 9/11: A Legal Reporter at the World Trade Center) is available here and it discusses his experiences that day and afterward. Between the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa., 2,977 innocent people lost their lives on 9/11.

We all know David today as Relativity’s discovery counsel and legal education director, but 25 years ago, he was a reporter and assistant editor at ALM’s The National Law Journal. David describes the beginning of that day as “as a Ferris Bueller kind of day in New York City, with clear, cloudless skies”. Of course, he also observes: “Had the skies not been so clear and sunny that day, that change in course for Western civilization might have gone differently.”

David began his day by driving across the Brooklyn Bridge and into The National Law Journal offices in Manhattan, arriving at his usual parking garage at (according to his parking receipt, which he still has) 8:57am.

Around the same time, American Airlines Flight 11, a Boston to Los Angeles flight, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 AM, and United Airlines Flight 175, also a Boston to Los Angeles flight, struck the South Tower at 9:03 AM.

David calculated that he was on the Brooklyn Bridge (which was near the World Trade Center) when the first plane hit. Incredibly, he didn’t see it, but given the daily hustle and bustle of NYC, I can understand it.

At the time, David was writing what would be his series of installments on Mister Softee Inc. v. Valdez. the case involving the ice cream company’s case against companies operating similar ice cream trucks for trademark and trade dress infringement.

On 9/11, however, the Mister Softee story would have to wait. ALM was still officially “American Lawyer Media” back then, and ALM’s editors, including The National Law Journal’s Bob Ambrogi, gathered to decide how to cover the attacks. The team agreed to send reporters to the World Trade Center and David volunteered to be one of the reporters, along with the late Monica Bay (the longtime founding editor-in-chief of ALM’s Legaltech News, known then as Law Technology News, who was a gifted and talented photographer and took photographs of 9/11 that were ultimately published by ALM publications around the nation), as well as Allison Frankel and Nathan Koppel of The American Lawyer.

David proceeds to discuss their route to the World Trade Center (including running toward – instead of away from – the WTC when a gas leak was discovered), their observations of Ground Zero itself, their “return from Armageddon” and the difficulty of getting their report filed, and the aftermath of 9/11, including publishing an obituary for every lawyer who perished in the attacks of 9/11.

I don’t want to steal any more of David’s thunder than I already have – check out his article here.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) is holding a memorial at next week’s ILTACON conference, including a wall of remembrance and a video presentation during the Wednesday Keynote on Aug. 26, featuring members of the legal technology community who experienced the attacks and their aftermath, which David will be a part of.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia, Picture Taken by Sander Lamme

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