Georgia Online Justice Community

STATE BAR OF GEORGIA PRO BONO AWARDS PRESENTED

At its annual Awards Ceremony today in Amelia Island, Florida the Pro Bono Project, the State Bar of Georgia's Access to Justice Committee and the Bar's A Business Commitment Pro Bono Business Law Committee conferred their highest awards on Hunton & Williams lawyer Amy K. Alcoke, the law firm of King & Spalding, LLP, Albany lawyer Mark S. Redden, and Alston & Bird's Robert Mark Williamson.

Amy K. Alcoke, a lawyer with Atlanta's Hunton & William's office, received the H Sol Clark Award. The H. Sol Clark Award, first awarded in 1983, is named for former Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Clark of Savannah, who is known as the "father of legal aid in Georgia." The Clark award honors an individual lawyer who has excelled in one or more of a variety of activities which extend legal services to the poor. Alcoke was honored for her strong support for civil legal services for the poor and for her professionalism. Alcoke, an active member of the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division, was recognized for her work coordinating the Associates Campaign for Legal Services. The Campaign has raised over $160,000 for nine legal services organizations in Georgia. Alcoke is also credited with providing strong leadership on pro bono issues within the Young Lawyers Division and with providing hundreds of hours of direct pro bono services.

The William B. Spann, Jr. Award was given to the Eviction Defense Project of King & Spalding, LLP. The Spann Award is given each year to either a local bar association or a community organization which has "developed a pro bono program that has satisfied previously unmet needs or extended services to underserved segments of the population." The award is named for a former president of the American Bar Association and former executive director of the State Bar of Georgia. The State Bar honored King & Spalding for the firm's commitment to civil legal services for the poor through its partnership on eviction defense with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. The firm's Eviction Defense Project, which has provided service to over 150 clients, was noted as a model for other law firms.

The State Bar of Georgia's Access to Justice Committee also awarded the Dan Bradley Legal Services Award to Mark S. Redden, a managing attorney with the Albany Regional Office of Georgia Legal Services Program, Inc. The award honors the memory of Georgia native and Mercer Law graduate Dan J. Bradley, who was president of the federal Legal Services Corporation from 1979 to 1982. Mr. Bradley began his career as a staff attorney with Florida Migrant Legal Services in 1967. He is credited by many with having been instrumental in saving the Legal Services Corporation, which funds programs like Georgia Legal Services Program and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, from elimination during the early years of the Reagan administration. The Dan Bradley Legal Services Award recognizes the work of an Atlanta Legal Aid or Georgia Legal Services Program attorney who has excelled in the commitment to the delivery of quality legal services to the poor and to providing equal access to justice. Redden was recognized for his years of service to Georgia Legal Services and to the southwest Georgia community during which he provided leadership on the development of disaster legal services, developed recognized expertise on home ownership and foreclosure issues, and worked to ensure the delivery of quality legal services for the poor.

The A Business Commitment Pro Bono Business Law Committee of the State Bar of Georgia presented its annual pro bono award to Robert Mark Williamson of Atlanta's Alston & Bird, LLP. The A Business Commitment Business Law Pro Bono Committee matches volunteer business lawyers with nonprofits serving low-income communities. The ABC Committee functions to provide an outlet for business lawyers who usually do not litigate but who still want to meet their ethical and professional obligations of providing legal services to the poor. Williamson is honored for his commitment to providing extensive pro bono business law services to the nonprofit and community economic development sectors in Georgia. He was lauded for his business law contributions to Kids in Need of Dreams, Inc. and the Truancy Intervention Project.