The Atlanta Lawyer August/September 2016 | Page 14

IN Remembrance of Jeffrey Bramlett By Edward B. Krugman For those old enough to have lived through significant events – the assassinations of the Kennedys and Dr. King, the first walk on the moon, the tragedies of 9/11 – we remember where we were when we first heard what had occurred or watched it live on television. I will forever remember where I was when I first heard that my partner and dear friend, Jeff Bramlett, was sick. I was sitting in my office some eight years ago when Jeff came in, closed the door, and said he had some news to tell me – some good and some bad. I asked to hear the bad news first, and that’s when Jeff told me he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. And then, in typical Bramlett fashion, he delivered the “good” news, that at least he knew what he would die of. Over the next several years, Jeff’s cancer was largely an afterthought for most of us at our firm. He told only his family and partners about the illness, and it was a subject we mostly avoided except to ask Jeff from time-to-time how he was doing. Jeff received periodic treatments that he called his chemo cocktails, and that seemed to have little effect on him, physically or mentally, until early 2015. And then, last summer, Jeff reported that he would be having a stem cell transplant. Jeff had the transplant last year, and thankfully survived it; many do not. All of us, including Jeff, believed he had earned many more years. But Jeff was in the unlucky 15% for whom the transplant does not work, and a second transplant was not an option. Nonetheless, Jeff 14 August/September 2016 remained eternally optimistic, with the promise of new drugs recently approved by the FDA. The Jeff Bramlett I knew for more than three decades was an incredibly vibrant and handsome man, with amazing hair and eyebrows. But the transplant, treatments and cancer took a toll on him physically. Many people would have chosen to remain at home, but Jeff was not like most. He donned his fedora to cover up the hair loss (his eyebrows somehow persevered), and out he went when his health allowed it – to the Lawyers Club of Atlanta Holiday Party, the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference in Alabama, and the Annual Meeting of the State Bar in Florida. Jeff did this because he loved people, and most of all, he loved lawyers and conversation with them. I knew that Jeff was an extraordinary lawyer, a brilliant strategist and the consummate professional. He was also a great partner, always putting the welfare and interests of the firm above his own. He was a mentor and teacher to many. When I encountered difficult challenges in cases, Jeff was always there to provide sage advice. I never understood how he could find the time to do all that he did – representing wealthy clients who could pay and indigent clients who could not, while holding leadership positions with the Atlanta Bar, the Georgia Bar, the ACLU, his church, and many other organizations. But what I perhaps did not fully appreciate was the impact that Jeff had on so many others. I soon found that out.