GLSP wins Zenith Award for Service to the Community from GABWA

Posted on May 22, 2013 by swells

Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys names Founders Award winners

GABWA is a bar association formed in 1981 to serve the needs and interests of black women attorneys.
We provide an informed and reliable voice through which the needs of black women lawyers and the black community at large may be articulated.
GABWA includes judges, law students, professors, deans, government and public interest lawyers, television stars, state bar attorneys, in-house attorneys from small, mid-sized and Fortune 500 corporations, solo/small firm lawyers, and large firm lawyers.
GABWA’s mission statement is as follows: The Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys is a voluntary bar organization that nurtures, supports and galvanizes the power of Black women attorneys, advocates for women and children and empowers our communities.

Please join us in congratulating the following winners of the 2013 GABWA Founders Awards:

LEAH WARD SEARS AWARD FOR DISTINCTION IN THE PROFESSION
The Honorable M. Yvette Miller
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

BARBARA A. HARRIS AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
Julie M.T. Walker, Esq.
Founder and Managing Partner
Julie M.T. Walker, P.C.
Atlanta, Georgia
jmtwalker1@gmail.com

BENSONETTA TIPTON LANE AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO THE FAMILY
Karlise Yvette Grier, Esq.
Founder and Managing Partner
Grier Law Office, P.C.
Atlanta, Georgia
kygrier@grierlawofficepc.com

ZENITH AWARD FOR DISTINCTION IN THE PROFESSION
(Individual)
Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein
Supreme Court of Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

ZENITH AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
(Organization)
Georgia Legal Services Program
Phyllis J. Holmen, Esq., Executive Director
Statewide
pholmen@glsp.org

ZENITH POLITICAL ACTION AWARD
Laverne Lewis Gaskins, Esq.
University Attorney
Office of Legal Affairs, Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia
llgaskin@valdosta.edu

Winners will be honored at the GABWA Glitter Gala & Auction

Saturday, July 20, 2013 at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta

Our theme this year is “Moroccan Rhapsody”

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening is the Host of HLN’s Evening Express,

Ryan Smith

Please join us by clicking on the link below to purchase your tickets:

http://gabwaglittergala2013.eventbrite.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

GABWA is a bar association formed in 1981 to serve the needs and interests of black women attorneys.
We provide an informed and reliable voice through which the needs of black women lawyers and the black community at large may be articulated.

GABWA includes judges, law students, professors, deans, government and public interest lawyers, television stars, state bar attorneys, in-house attorneys from small, mid-sized and Fortune 500 corporations, solo/small firm lawyers, and large firm lawyers.

GABWA’s mission statement is as follows: The Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys is a voluntary bar organization that nurtures, supports and galvanizes the power of Black women attorneys, advocates for women and children and empowers our communities.

Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys names Founders Award winners

Please join us in congratulating the following winners of the 2013 GABWA Founders Awards.

LEAH WARD SEARS AWARD FOR DISTINCTION IN THE PROFESSION

The Honorable M. Yvette Miller

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

BARBARA A. HARRIS AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Julie M.T. Walker, Esq.

Founder and Managing Partner

Julie M.T. Walker, P.C.

Atlanta, Georgia

jmtwalker1@gmail.com

BENSONETTA TIPTON LANE AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO THE FAMILY

Karlise Yvette Grier, Esq.

Founder and Managing Partner

Grier Law Office, P.C.

Atlanta, Georgia

kygrier@grierlawofficepc.com

ZENITH AWARD FOR DISTINCTION IN THE PROFESSION

(Individual)

Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein

Supreme Court of Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

ZENITH AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

(Organization)

Georgia Legal Services Program

Phyllis J. Holmen, Esq., Executive Director

Statewide

pholmen@glsp.org

ZENITH POLITICAL ACTION AWARD

Laverne Lewis Gaskins, Esq.

University Attorney

Office of Legal Affairs, Valdosta State University

Valdosta, Georgia

llgaskin@valdosta.edu

Winners will be honored at the GABWA Glitter Gala & Auction

Saturday, July 20, 2013 at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta

Our theme this year is “Moroccan Rhapsody”

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening is the

Host of HLN’s Evening Express, Ryan Smith.

Please join us by clicking on the link below to purchase your tickets:

http://gabwaglittergala2013.eventbrite.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

Farmworkers claim racial bias in farm hiring

Posted on May 14, 2013 by swells

By ETHAN BRONNER
The New York Times
Published: May 6, 2013

VIDALIA, Ga. — For years, labor unions and immigrant rights activists have accused large-scale farmers, like those harvesting sweet Vidalia onions here this month, of exploiting Mexican guest workers. Working for hours on end under a punishing sun, the pickers are said to be crowded into squalid camps, driven without a break and even cheated of wages.
But as Congress weighs immigration legislation expected to expand the guest worker program, another group is increasingly crying foul — Americans, mostly black, who live near the farms and say they want the field work but cannot get it because it is going to Mexicans. Read more…

Rural Georgia struggles to get lawyers

Posted on May 14, 2013 by swells

By DAN CHAPMAN
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FORT GAINES, Ga. — Ryan Wheeler, graduating from law school in Atlanta this month, needs a job.
Clay County, a rural southwest Georgia community without a full-time, private-practice attorney, needs all the legal help it can get.
A match made in heaven?
Hardly.
Despite the job-search difficulty facing the newly minted graduates of Georgia State, Emory, the University of Georgia, Mercer and other law schools, few will end up practicing in rural Georgia, where legal representation is sorely lacking.
Read more…

GLSP files suit against Vidalia Onion Grower

Posted on May 2, 2013 by swells

Claiming that U.S. citizen workers were paid less than foreign guest workers at a Lyons, Ga., farm, GLSP’s Farmworker Division filed suit to get higher pay and better working conditions.

GLSP Farmworker Division Featured on Huffington Post

Posted on May 2, 2013 by swells

Farmworker Division Lead Attorney Dawson Morton wrote an article for Huffington Post about the struggles of U.S. citizen and immigrant farmworkers. “Court filings tell a story of Americans displaced from jobs flooded with foreign workers and of foreign workers who lose their job if they demand fair pay or better working conditions,” he says.

GLSP Attorney Advocates for Limited English Proficiency Clients

Posted on March 28, 2013 by swells

Bilingual Staff Attorney Jana Edmondson

Bilingual Staff Attorney Jana Edmondson of the Macon regional office spoke on a panel in Washington, D.C., at a conference called the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. She and others advocated for enhancing language access in the courts. “I came back with a renewed passion for working to make sure that our LEP clients have meaningful access to our justice system,” said Edmondson, who works under GLSP’s Goizuetta Foundation grant. Read more about the conference…

Champions of Justice Event Honors Men and Women Who Have Given Decades of Service to Low-Income Georgians

Posted on March 21, 2013 by swells

At a gala reception March 14, 2013, at the State Bar of Georgia Building, the Champions of Justice were honored for their service in making justice accessible to low income Georgians. Look below the story for pictures of the event. (Photos by Don Morgan Photography & Video)

Honoree Elizabeth "Betsy" Neely, a co-founder of GLSP.

Champion of Justice Elizabeth “Betsy” Neely, Esq., said her help creating Georgia Legal Services Program is “one of the proudest associations of my Life. I’m so proud of what this program has done.”

Her sentiments summed up the atmosphere at the March 14, 2013, Champions of Justice event, at which men and women who have worked decades to bring access to justice to thousands of low income Georgians were honored for their service.

Neely, who was one of the co-founders of GLSP when she served on the Younger Lawyers Section Committee of the state Bar in the 1970s, helped establish the Georgia Indigents Legal Services and served as board secretary for several years. Along with honorees J. Ben Shapiro, Jr., Esq., Emory Law School Associate Dean A. James Elliott, R. William Ide, III, Esq., and Thomas E. Dennard, Jr., Esq., Neely studied the need for civil counsel for low-income Georgians before approaching the state Bar with the idea of setting up a legal aid organization to serve the small towns and rural areas of the state outside Metro Atlanta.

“When all is said and done, it’s what really makes a difference,” said Ide of his service to GLSP. “We are lawyers, and that is what we are here to do is serve others.”

Thomas E. Dennard, Jr. Esq., co-founder of GLSP

The young lawyers who began GLSP had an uphill climb to make it happen, said Dennard, now an attorney in Brunswick. “We did not have a lot of support. A lot of people, even the Bar, did not support this back then. But my grandmother told me, ‘You do what you are supposed to do.’ So we kept on.

“It is so reassuring to see that 750,000 clients have been served in the 42 years GLSP has been around. What a wonderful tribute that is.”

Cora Johnson of Soperton has worked with GLSP’s indigent clients on social justice issues for 35 years. “I could have left Soperton,” she said, “but I wanted to make a difference where I live.” Now 87, Ms. Johnson is still working with GLSP and came to the event despite having broken her hip earlier in the year. “I’m out here now and can’t nobody stop me,” she said.

Honoree Cora Johnson

In opening remarks, GLSP Executive Director Phyllis Holmen said Ms. Johnson had said to her before the event, “You have to praise the bridge that brought you.” That is the idea behind honoring the Champions, Holmen said. “These people have gone before us and built the bridge that brought us.”

Honoree Lillie Winn of Walthourville died in February before she could accept her award, but her sister and her granddaughter accepted it for her. “If she had lived,” said Twanda Walthour, Ms. Winn’s granddaughter, “she would have been here. You couldn’t have stopped her. GLSP was HER thing. And I’m going to do like she did. I’m going to keep on.”

Photos of the Champions of Justice Honors Ceremony

: Hon. Hardy Gregory, Burke Sherwood, Elizabeth Neely, William Ide, Ben Shapiro, James Elliott, Thomas Dennard, Cora Johnson, Rosie Walthour, Phyllis Holmen.

Honoree R. William Ide, III, Esq., co-founder of GLSP.

GLSP Board President Burke Sherwood, Honoree Cora Johnson, GLSP Executive Director Phyllis Holmen, Hon. Hardy Gregory.

Honoree Ben Shapiro, co-founder of GLSP, with Phyllis Holmen.

Honoree James Elliot, Associate Dean of Emory Law School and co-founder of GLSP.

Twanda Walthour, grand daughter of Honoree Lillie M. Winn, and Mrs. Winn's sister Rosie Walthour.

GLSP Board Member Wanda Collier with Board Chairman Burke Sherwood.

GLSP Board Member Michael Geoffroy gave closing remarks.

Hon. Hardy Gregor, former Georgia Supreme Court Justice, presented the awards. He is with Phyllis Holmen.

More pictures of the festivities!

In house lawyer blog highlights GLSP practice of law brief

Posted on March 14, 2013 by swells

Garnishment article

Here is the link to the article.

GLSP offers resources for GA lawyers whose clients need an interpreter in court

Posted on March 5, 2013 by mmonahan

Georgia Legal Services Program has developed a special set of resources to help lawyers request interpreters in civil proceedings in Georgia. The Georgia Supreme Court Committee promulgated rules on the use of interpreters for the hearing impaired and for people who have limited English proficiency. The materials offered by GLSP include a motion for an interpreter, a brief in support of the motion, brief attachments and an order for an interpreter at no cost to the client.

You can access the interpreter materials here.

GLSP attorney Jana J. Edmondson authored a February 2013 Georgia Bar Journal article entitled, Working with an Interpreter: Providing Effective Communication and Ensuring Limited English Proficient Clients Have Meaningful Access to Justice. The article reviews the legal authority for requiring interpreters in the legal context, the ethical obligation to communicate effectively with a client who speaks limited English and tips for working with interpreters. Read the Georgia Bar Journal article on interpreters.

Who are the Champions and Sponsors of March 14 Event?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by swells

“Each of the Champions of Justice earned this recognition through his or her proven record of advancing GLSP’s mission to provide access to justice and opportunities out of poverty for low-income Georgians. The foundational promise of “justice for all” depends on the availability of civil legal services to our fellow citizens who cannot afford representation on their own. In the economic conditions of the past several years, GLSP’s fulfillment of that mission has become all the more vital.” — Robin Frazer Clark, president, The State Bar of Georgia

2011-2012 Champions of Justice
Thomas E. Dennard, Jr., Esq.
Nightingale, Liles, Dennard & Carmical
Brunswick, GA

A. James Elliott, Esq.
Associate Dean
Emory University School of Law
Atlanta, GA

Ms. Isabelle Harper
Community Activist
Waynesboro, GA

R. William Ide, III, Esq.
McKenna Long & Aldridge
Atlanta, GA

Ms. Cora Johnson
Executive Director
Treutlen County Community Sewing Center
Soperton, GA

Walter Jospin, Esq.
Paul Hastings LLP
Atlanta, GA

Elizabeth “Betsy” Neely, Esq.
GLSP Founder
Atlanta, GA

J. Ben Shapiro, Jr., Esq.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC
Atlanta, GA

Ms. Rosita M. Stanley
Vice-chair
National Legal Aid and Defender Association
Macon, GA

Ms. Lillie Winn
Former State Chairperson
Georgia Clients Council
Walthourville, GA

—————————————————————————————————–

Our generous sponsors
Who make this event possible

Partner Sponsors
Fulton Daily Report (In-Kind)
McKenna Long & Aldridge Foundation, Inc.

Advocate Sponsors
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP
Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, PC
King & Spalding
Paul Hastings, LLP

Patron Sponsors
Georgia Power Foundation
Jones Day

Contributor Sponsors
The Coca-Cola Company (In-Kind)
Emory University School of Law
Terrica Redfield Ganzy
Gardner, Willis, Sweat & Handelman, LLP
Patricia A. Gorham
LaMalva, Geoffroy & Oeland
H. Burke Sherwood, Sr.
The Sutton Law Group

Click HERE to learn more and purchase your tickets today for the March event!