Alabama State Bar Presents Awards to Recognize Outstanding Contributions to the Profession

Montgomery, Alabama, July 19, 2010 – At the Alabama State Bar's 2010 Annual Meeting, held this past weekend in Sandestin, Florida, awards honoring members of the legal profession were presented to the following:

(Chief Justice's Professionalism Award) – J. Douglas McElvy, Montgomery. He is a past president of the Alabama State Bar (2004-2005). During his tenure, he played an instrumental role in starting the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, which encourages lawyers and judges to exercise the highest levels of professionalism in their relationships with clients, other lawyers, the courts and the public. In August 2007, Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb asked him to serve as vice-chair of the commission.

(Judicial Award of Merit) – Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, Montgomery. Recognized for her steadfast efforts to improve the state's judicial system during a time of unprecedented economic downturn. During her brief tenure, there were 17 drug courts operating in the state before Chief Justice Cobb took office. There are now 58 programs covering 54 counties, and there are also 15 juvenile drug courts and 14 family drug courts.

(Maud McLure Kelly Award) – Sara Dominick Clark, Birmingham. This award celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and paved the way to success for other women lawyers. Maud McLure Kelly was the first woman to be admitted to the practice of law in Alabama. In 1907, Kelly's performance on the entrance exam at the University of Alabama Law Department merited her admission to the school as a senior, the second woman ever to have been admitted.

Pro Bono Awards:

(Al Vreeland Award) – Henry A. Callaway, III, Hand Arendall LLC, Mobile. He was recognized for his exceptional leadership, "out-of-the-box thinking" and creative legal problem-solving with respect to improving the delivery of legal services to Mobile's poor and disadvantaged population.

He has devoted in excess of 1,000 hours of volunteer time to serve on the VLP board, accepted nearly 100 pro bono cases in his lifetime, and serves as a member of the Chief Justice's Access to Justice Commission.

(Firm/Group Award) – The Law firm of Adams & Reese LLP, Mobile, in recognition of the firm's long-standing commitment to and financial support of the Mobile Bar Association VLP. In 2000, Adams and Reese instituted CA&RE (Caring Adams & Reese Employees) as the firm's official pro bono program. Seven years later, the firm instituted mandatory pro bono hours and attorneys in the firm's combined offices dedicated more than 5,800 hours of pro bono services. Since then, Adams & Reese LLP has doubled that commitment requiring each attorney to provide 20 or more hours annually of free legal service.

(Law Student Award) – Clayton Tartt, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Montgomery. As a result of an unpaid summer internship with the Georgia Innocence Project, Tartt was motivated to found the Jones School of Law Public Interest Law Foundation (JPILF) to provide financial support and gain experience in the field of public interest law. The goal is to equip students with the resources needed to develop and maintain a commitment to public interest.

(Mediation Award) – Robert W. Creveling, sole practitioner, Birmingham, who has provided 60 hours of pro bono service as a member of the Jefferson County District Court Mediation Program.

(Clarence Darrow Award) – This award was originally created by the Indigent Defense Committee to recognize those lawyers who have distinguished themselves in the field of criminal representation. Valerie Lynne Goudie and Carey Neal Kirby, Goudie & Kirby, Anniston, were honored for their representation of a death-row inmate in a Rule 32 Proceeding (which provides a method for defendants to challenge their conviction in a trial court). Ret. Circuit Judge. Samuel H. Monk II, who presided, searched for 18 months to locate counsel who would even accept this case.

(Commissioner's Award) – John H. Wilkerson, Jr., clerk, Court of Civil Appeals, Montgomery. He has held that position since the court was created in 1975 and is one of the longest serving appellate clerks in Alabama history.

(Award of Merit) – Edward A. Hosp, Maynard Cooper & Gale PC, Birmingham. Hosp has served as chair of the Chief Justice's Commission on Access to Justice since it was created in 2007. The commission provides funding and civil legal services for low-income citizens. The commission was created by Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb who realized the need for people to be treated fairly in the court system and the societal concerns facing the state of Alabama.

(Local Bar Achievement Award – Presented for advancing programs that benefit the community and enhance the bar's image).

The Calhoun/Cleburne County Bar Association - Local Bar Award of Achievement in the small bar category. Over the past year, the bar implemented 10 projects which have advanced a number of programs to benefit both the community and the legal profession. From its CLE programs to its criminal justice scholarship, Crimestoppers Program, Success Academy, Domestic Violence Shelter work, and school law presentations, the quality and depth of the programs have created excitement and a sense of partnership both among the legal community and the citizens it serves.

The Tuscaloosa County Bar Association – Local Bar Award of Achievement in the medium bar category. This organization was recognized for its innovative and strategic projects. During the past year, the bar has conducted fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald Room at DCH Regional Medical Center, supported underprivileged students so they can purchase supplies for area schools and sponsored local educational programs on fire and drug prevention, and diversity issues. Local participation in VLP pro bono work increased from 28 percent to 40 percent of its membership.

The Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association – Local Bar Award of Achievement in the large bar category. The bar was cited for its membership drive to increase participation in the Madison County Volunteer Lawyers Program, community service programs such as FOCAL Christmas Wish, Food Drive, United Way Drive, and Special Needs programs.

(Judge Walter P. Gewin CLE Award) – John A. Lentine, Sheffield & Lentine PC, Birmingham. He has unselfishly shared his time and expertise both as a planning committee chair and seminar presenter for programs on criminal defense and professionalism.

(William D. "Bill" Scruggs, Jr. Service to the Bar Award) – Ben H. Harris, Jr., Johnstone Adams, Mobile. He was president of the Alabama State Bar (1987-88) and during his tenure led the ASB to create Attorneys Insurance Mutual, a captive insurance company (this is an insurance company that insures the risks of its parent company). He was also responsible for the establishment of the Capital Representation Resource Center – an organization which provides competent and effective counsel for those persons facing capital punishment. Today, he serves as president of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society.

The 16,000-member Alabama State Bar is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility, competence and satisfaction of its members, improving the administration of justice and increasing public understanding and respect for the law.

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