MEMBERSHIP
PHOTO CREDIT : PEXELS
135 Years of the
Atlanta Bar Association
president Joe Biden , Attorney General Eric Holder , and Harvard Law School Constitutional Law Professor Lawrence Tribe , to discuss ways to provide civil legal services to lower income citizens . Presidents of several bar associations were invited to participate .
Lynn M . Roberson President , 2012-2013
During my term , the Atlanta Bar was only one of a few bar associations which agreed to sign an amicus brief to the U . S . Supreme Court in support of marriage equality . The Court later issued its first opinion affirming that position . Our Board voted unanimously to support equal civil rights for our fellow Americans .
Wade H . Watson III President , 2013-2014
During my term , one of the highlights of the year was the 125th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon held at the Piedmont Driving Club on February 25 , 2014 . The guest speaker was American Bar Association President- Elect William C . Hubbard . The January / February 2014 issue of The Atlanta Lawyer includes an article I wrote about it . There was also a big write-up in the Daily Report about the event and Mr . Hubbard ’ s remarks . jackie h . saylor
President , 2014-2015
During my term , the Atlanta Bar was asked to sign an amicus brief by The Bay Area Lawyers to support Petitioners who sued four officials in various states due to the “ Constitutional and statutory bans in those states which prohibit same-sex couples from marrying and prohibit recognition of legally performed marriages in other states .” As one of my last official duties as Bar President , I oversaw approval of the Board ’ s decision to sign the amicus brief . Within a month , Obergefell v . Hodges ruled that the “ fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to samesex couples by both the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution .”
james D . blitch , iv president , 2016-2017
During my term , we honored Kathy O ’ Neil with a Leadership Award . The luncheon was at the Piedmont Driving Club and the ballroom was full . Kathy directed the Bard Show for many years , always to great success . Her talents were immense . One of the featured songs that year was set to Queen ’ s “ Somebody to Love ,” with clever lyrics Kathy had crafted . The cast surprised Kathy by performing that song at the luncheon , and they let it rip . Kathy was battling cancer , and you could feel the intensity of the moment and the depth of the Atlanta Bar community .
Ryan K . Walsh President , 2019-2020
During my term as President of the Atlanta Bar , one item that stands out is the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bar ’ s response . It was surreal – having a meeting to determine whether we should temporarily cancel in-person meetings . We did so for two weeks , hoping it would blow over by then . Of course , it didn ’ t . And in the following months , the response of the Bar to the emergency was pretty amazing , with efforts to ensure that things kept moving forward as well as we could . Also , my father and I became the second father and son to both serve as President of the Atlanta Bar .
*[ The 5th President , Eugene Mitchell in 1910 , and Stephens Mitchell , in 1937 , were the first parent / child . The far more interesting fact is that Eugene was father to , and Stephens was brother of , one Margaret Mitchell , " Gone With The Wind ."]
14 June / July 2023