PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
from new members for getting involved in Sections and bar
programs. We see events of this nature as a meaningful
way to foster and encourage member engagement and to
promote the awareness of the vast resources our bar offers,
such as relationship and career building opportunities, firstrate CLE and professionalism programming, and meaningful
pro bono and community service opportunities. We hope that
you will invite your friends and colleagues to join the Atlanta
Bar as a new member and take advantage of the half-price
discount on dues that we are offering through January 2016.
The 2015 Celebrating Service Luncheon and Pro Bono Fair
was inspiring, both in terms of our distinguished keynote
speaker and with the exceptional examples set by each
honoree for their tireless efforts in pro bono, community
service and public service through our bar association and
the broader legal community. Our keynote speaker, Joe
Bankoff, Chair of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
at Georgia Institute of Technology, is no stranger to civic
leadership and community service. A visionary leader with
genuine humility and a steadfast commitment to giving back
and making our society a better one, Joe has led by example
and demonstrated how one can use the legal profession to
have an incredibly broad and lasting impact on the community,
region and beyond. I admire him so much for maintaining, over
the course of an exceptional and rigorous legal career, an
unrelenting commitment to serving others and the community.
To sum it up perfectly, Senator Sam Nunn describes Joe as
follows: “Joe Bankoff is known and respected in broad and
influential circles in Atlanta and Georgia for his integrity, his
visionary leadership, his keen intellect, his common sense,
his good judgment and his dedication to civic improvement.”
Joe’s remarks emphasized the important role each of us
can play, one lawyer at a time or working together, to make
things better for the less fortunate and for our community.
Lawyer Referral and Information Services (“LRIS”) Program
and the 30th Anniversary of the Minority and Diversity
Clerkship Program. A special congratulations goes to each
of our awards recipients for the outstanding and inspiring
work they do to serve and help others: Judge Kimberly
Esmond-Adams—Community Service; Eddie Chase and
Marilyn Primovic—Public Service; Chris Lightner—Pro Bono;
Rachel Spears—Rita A. Sheffey Public Interest Award. We
were also honored to have the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers
Foundation (“AVLF”) and Atlanta Legal Aid Society present
awards to deserving lawyers who have gone above and
beyond the call of duty to serve others in our community.
Finally, in keeping with our tradition of leadership through
service, I am pleased that our bar association has commenced
the school outreach phase of the Equal Justice in Law
Enforcement (“EJLE”) Initiative. You may recall from prior
editions that I formed the EJLE initiative, which began in
May, to engage the legal community and key stakeholders
(citizens and law enforcement community) in a focused and
collaborative effort to help prevent and lessen the prospect of
law enforcement shootings (and/or the use of excessive force)
involving non-violent unarmed citizens. In November, we met
with almost one thousand high school students to discuss
our “Know Your Rights” fact sheet, which outlines Fourth
Amen dment rights, and to offer helpful strategies on how to
conduct themselves in encounters with law enforcement. I
am confident that the legal community can play a vital role
in helping to lessen the potential for discriminatory policing
practices and uphold the civil and constitutional rights of every
citizen, while also supporting the outstanding work, dedication
and sacrifice of our law enforcement community. Please see
the bar’s website for additional information about the Atlanta
Bar Association’s EJLE Initiative, the “Know Your Rights” Fact
Sheet, volunteer opportunities and programming.
The Celebrating Service program is always special and
remarkable. This was especially the case this year, as the
bar celebrated two milestones, the 60th Anniversary of the
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
October/November 2015
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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