The Atlanta Lawyer June/July 2011 | Page 30

sections update Litigation section - 2011 Logan E. Bleckley Award for Judicial Excellence O By James D. Blitch iv Beal & Blitch, LLP n May 5, 2011, the Litigation Section of the Atlanta Bar Association presented The Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit with the Logan E. Bleckley Award for Judicial Excellence. Judge Kravitch was introduced by The Honorable J. L. Edmondson, her colleague for many years on the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Edmondson praised Judge Kravitch for her role as a pioneer, her excellent legal mind, and the remarkable way she has always interacted with her colleagues on the Court. Judge Kravitch was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, making her the third woman in the history of the country to serve on a federal appellate court. Before this, she had won election as a judge for the Superior Court of Chatham County in Savannah, her home town. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In her remarks accepting the award, Judge Kravitch noted that her career started in the courtroom as a trial attorney and that she was particularly pleased that this award was given to her by the Litigation Section. The reception was held at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Atlanta, and it was well attended by members of the legal community in Atlanta. 30 THE ATLANTA LAWYER June/July 2011 [email protected] (left to right): The Honorable J. L. Edmondson (Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit) ,James D. Blitch iv (Beal & Blitch, LLP) ,and The Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch (United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit). the official news publication of the atlanta bar association