At their annual Awards Ceremony today in Amelia Island, Florida, the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project and the State Bar of Georgia's Access to Justice Committee conferred their highest awards on Elizabeth Leigh Anne Garvish, the Savannah Bar Association, the Atlanta office of Troutman Sanders, LLP and Atlanta Legal Aid’s Margaret Hayman.

Elizabeth Leigh Anne Garvish, an attorney with Marchman & Kasraie, LLC, 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 that extend legal services to the poor. Garvish was recognized for her extensive pro bono work in coordinating and providing legal assistance to immigrants in Georgia who are on the path to U.S. citizenship.

“We’re certainly pleased to see lawyers so committed to their communities, “ says Mike Monahan, Director of the Bar’s Pro Bono Project. “Ms. Garvish’s work with the immigrant community underscores the wide range of legal needs out there and opportunities for service – and certainly showcases how lawyers can bring order and light to situations that can be complex and often frustrating.”

The State Bar of Georgia William B. Spann Award is given each year to either a local bar association or a community organization project 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 Spann Award was presented to two distinct pro bono efforts. The State Bar selected the Savannah Bar Association for its collaborative hospice pro bono partnership with the Georgia Legal Services Program. Michael Edwards, President-elect of the Savannah Bar Association accepted the award for the project on behalf of the association. The Hospice Pro Bono Project helps terminally-ill patients under the care of Hospice Savannah and other hospice programs prepare certain critical legal documents. Under the program, volunteer lawyers help patients by preparing a last will and testament, advance directives for health care, powers of attorney and certain real estate transfers.

“This is the second Spann Award for a project of the Savannah Bar within the past 10 years,” notes Bill Broker, Savannah Bar member and Managing Attorney for the project partner, the Savannah Regional Office of Georgia Legal Services Program. “The Hospice Project fills a special niche with respect to previously unmet legal needs and is responsive to both the needs of an extremely vulnerable population and the desires of many attorneys to help.”

The Atlanta office of Troutman Sanders, LLP also received a Spann Award from the State Bar of Georgia for its outstanding record of pro bono service. Troutman Sanders, LLP was recognized for its significant involvement in pro bono projects managed by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation as well as for its own unique service programs. Troutman Sanders lawyers lent their expertise and skills to pro bono efforts such as trusts and wills projects and eviction defense and family law programs. Additionally, the firm has placed several of its associates with Atlanta Legal Aid to serve as paid “Fellows” who provide free legal services to low-income Atlantans.

The State Bar of Georgia's Access to Justice Committee also awarded the Dan Bradley Legal Services Award to Margaret Hayman. Hayman was chosen for the Bradley Award for twenty-plus years of service within the legal aid community during which time she has been committed to delivering high quality legal assistance and developing and managing innovative justice programs for families and children. “Her years of work and commitment to legal aid work and to addressing educational issues for at risk kids make her a deserving award recipient. But perhaps even more important is the mentoring and inspiration she has provided other lawyers at Legal Aid and volunteers who work with us,” says Legal Aid Director, Steve Gottlieb.

The Bradley 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.

About the State Bar of Georgia:  The State Bar of Georgia exists to foster among its members the principles of duty and service to the public, to improve the administration of justice, and to advance the science of law. All persons authorized to practice law in Georgia are required to be members.