LawJam 2012 – Mega-Battle of the
Atlanta Lawyers’ Bands!
By Sally Hogsette
Executive Director,
Atlanta Bar Foundation
F
or the third straight year, the Atlanta Bar Foundation is
hosting LawJam, Battle of the Atlanta Lawyers’ Bands,
an exciting competition featuring eight outstanding
bands competing for coveted First Place and Best Original
Song awards. Each band includes at least one lawyer
musician or vocalist, and the proceeds support Atlanta
Bar Association youth projects, such as the Summer Law
Internship Program and Minority & Diversity Clerkship
Program, and local pro bono legal service providers.
The competition will be held on Saturday, June 9, 2012, from
7 p.m. to midnight at Variety Playhouse, a premier music
venue located in Little Five Points. The first 50 people to
arrive at Variety by 7 p.m. will receive a complimentary drink
ticket (beer/wine), so come early, get a great parking place
and enjoy the music!
Each band will play a 20-minute set followed by judges’
comments and scores. Humor is the norm, so expect to be
thoroughly entertained. The judges this year are prominent
entertainment lawyers Darryl B. Cohen, Cohen Cooper
Estep & Whiteman LLP, Lisa F. Moore, The Moore Firm
(also Executive Director of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts),
and well-known radio host Kaedi Kiely, 97.1 FM The River.
Throughout the evening, the audience will vote for their
favorite bands “Chicago style” at $1 per vote, and judges’
scores and audience votes will be combined for the total
scores. The winners of LawJam and Best Original Song
award will be crowned at midnight. or a quick glimpse
of last year’s event, click on http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=rMjQCWIxqd4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
As in prior years, numerous talented bands applied to
LawJam, but only eight could be selected. We are excited to
announce the eight bands competing in LawJam, including:
8
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
May 2012
[email protected]
• Along For the Ride – led by Scott E. Hitch, Burr &
Forman LLP
• Class Action – led by Robert C. Schwartz, Smith
Gambrell & Russell LLP
• Marshall Seese & the Abandoned – led by Marshall
R. Seese, Jr., Mowgli Games
• R&B Inc. – led by Graham J. Purpura, Solomon &
Jeffries LLP
• Section 8 – led by Philip L. Westee, Brack & Westee
PC
• Signal Flow – led by Van A. Anderson, Alston + Bird
LLP
• Specific Deviations – led by Victor P. Valmus, Moore
Ingram Johnson & Steele LLP
• The Working Class – led by Nathan Woody, Attorneyat-Law
Weekly profiles of the bands are appearing in the Daily Report,
CBS is showcasing LawJam and a band on CBS Better
Mornings (date to be announced), and information about
the bands is being posted on the LawJam 2012 Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/LawJam-Battleof-the-Atlanta-Lawyers-Bands/308058179248691. Expect
a packed crowd – for the past 2 years, more than 600
lawyers, judges and their guests have enjoyed the music
and enthusiastically voted for their favorite bands.
This event would not be possible without the talents and
expertise of the LawJam Directors who manage the stage,
operations and music, especially Brenton E. Hund, Turner
Broadcasting Company, who expertly manages the stage and
oversees all technical details of the show, Bert T. Reeves,
Turner Bachman & Garrett LLC, infamous rock star emcee
of LawJam, Jonathan E. Smith, Scoggins & Goodman,
PC, Van A. Anderson, Alston + Bird LLP, and Michael A.
Melonakos, Goodman McGuffie Lindsey & Johnson LLP,
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association