section update
The Public Interest Committee
Is Now The Public Interest Law Section
T
he Public Interest Committee officially became the
Public Interest Law Section (PILS) earlier this year.
The petition to create a new Section of the Atlanta
Bar Association requires 100 signatures, and we proudly
obtained over 150 signatures from Atlanta Bar Association
members who supported the creation of this new Section!
We are so grateful to have received this tremendous amount
of support and interest from our fellow Atlanta Bar Association
members. Thank you!
The mission of the Public Interest Law Section is to provide
an organization open to all who have a common interest
in advocacy and enhancement of constitutional, statutory
or other rights that protect the dignity, security, justice,
liberty, or freedom of the individual or public, and a forum
for discussion and exchange of ideas leading to increased
knowledge and understanding of the areas of public interest
law. We encourage and look forward to having a membership
comprised of public interest practitioners, private attorneys,
judges and many others.
The Public Interest Law Section is also pleased to announce
the creation of the Rita A. Sheffey Public Interest Award.
Ms. Sheffey has devoted much of her career and talent to
supporting and furthering the interests of public interest law
organizations and lawyers in Atlanta, and it was through her
encouragement, and Atlanta Bar Association leadership,
that the Public Interest Section was created. The Rita A.
Sheffey Award will be given each year to an attorney working
in the public interest who demonstrates both excellence in
the profession and leadership within the Atlanta Bar. The
first annual Rita A. Sheffey Award will be given to the one
and only Rita A. Sheffey at this year’s annual Celebrating
Service Luncheon on October 19, 2012.
The Public Interest Law Section looks forward to another
year of excellent educational programming and we will
continue our popular Speakers Series. Our two Speakers
Series events last year, co-sponsored by the Litigation
Section, The Mariel Cuban Boatlift and The Leo Frank
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
By Haley Schwartz
Abrams Davis Mason
and Long, LLC
hschwartz@
abramsdavis.com
S. Beth Stephens
Atlanta Legal Aid
Society Inc.
sbstephens@
atlantalegalaid.org
Case: A Retrospective from the Atlanta Bar, were fascinating
reminders of the impactful and significant public interest
legal work done in our community. We plan to have another
Speakers Series event this fall which will examine the
impetus and impact of the Kenny A. v. Perdue class action
lawsuit filed in 2002 on behalf of children in foster care in
Fulton and DeKalb counties.
We are also excited about continuing to provide programming
geared towards supporting, educating and nourishing
Atlanta's public interest lawyers. Last year, we offered CLE
brown bag lunch programs devoted to the needs of public
interest lawyers, including programs about the vicarious
trauma experienced by public interest practitioners, a
program about utilizing social media, and a program about
healthy eating and