WORDS FROM THE WISE
The Past and Present of The Atlanta Bar
Answered by Our Past Presidents
By Richard Caplan
LeClairRyan
[email protected]
T
he current strength of the Atlanta Bar Association is due in
large part to the work of its past leaders. For this month’s
issue of The Atlanta Lawyer, I reached out to five past
presidents of the Atlanta Bar: David H. Gambrell (1965–66),
currently senior counsel at Baker Donelson; Frank B. Strickland (1985–86), currently at Strickland Brockington Lewis;
The Honorable T. Jackson Bedford, Jr. (1994–95), currently
Deputy Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County;
Paula J. Frederick (1999–2000), currently General Counsel of
the State Bar of Georgia; and Lynn M. Roberson (2012–13),
currently at Miles Mediation. I wanted to get their take not
only the organization’s past, but where it might be headed in
the future. Their answers to the same five questions follow.
1
When you took your position as leader of the
Atlanta Bar Association, what goal(s) were
you most focused on?
Mr. Gambrell: The support for the organization of the State
Bar of Georgia, in which members of the Atlanta Bar Association are participants, and maintaining good relationships with
the local judiciary.
Mr. Strickland: I was looking for a major project for the Atlanta
Bar to undertake during my term. To my surprise, a federal
judge presented the Bar with such a project. U.S. District Judge
Marvin Shoob had granted habeas corpus relief to approximately 1,100 Marielito Cuban refugees detained without trial
for several years at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. These
detainees were represented by Gary Leshaw and Deborah
Ebel and other lawyers at The Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Judge
Shoob’s order was reversed by the U. S. Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit, which left the detainees in a difficult
position. Atlanta Legal Aid Society could not undertake 1,100
individual cases. Judge Shoob asked me if the Bar could
undertake a project to provide representation for the Cuban
detainees. With help and advice from my good friend, Steve
Gottlieb, then and now the Executive Director of Atlanta Legal
Aid Society, the Bar organized a program which recruited more
than 400 volunteer lawyers, plus translators, who represented
10
May 2016
over 800 detainees in administrative parole proceedings. The
Bar’s Cuban Detainee Program was recognized by the State
Bar of Georgia as the outstanding pro bono program of the
year in 1987 and the Bar received the Harrison Tweed Award
from the American Bar Association for the outstanding project
of the year, also in 1987.
Judge Bedford: Energizing the Bar leadership, increasing
lawyer participation in the Bar, expanding current programs
and creating new programs to serve our members’ needs.
The first thing I did the day after I was sworn in was to hold
a 3-day professionally-guided Bar Leadership Retreat where
we developed short term and long term goals for the Bar.
Ms. Frederick: Pro bono was the theme for my year; I asked
each of the Bar’s committees and sections to take on a pro
bono project during the year and almost all of them did. In a
couple of cases we worked with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers
Foundation and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society to tailor projects
to the interests of section members.
Ms. Roberson: As my predecessor, Rita Sheffey, advised,
“There is the Bar year you plan, and then there is the Bar
year you get.” As president, my primary focus was ensuring
a smooth transition as our long time executive director, Diane
O’Steen, retired, and our new executive director, Terri Bryant,
came on board in the middle of my term. Terri immediately
hit the ground running and dedicated herself to our Bar’s
continued success, so I was very gratified.
2
What was the hardest part about the job?
Mr. Gambrell: I do not recall any part of the job which I considered “hard.” Most of it was positive activity and good fellowship.
Mr. Strickland: Recruiting 400 lawyers for pro bono representation of Cuban detainees, but it was a challenging and
rewarding project.
Judge Bedford: Juggling my Bar responsibilities with the
demands of an active trial practice and management of my
law firm.
Ms. Frederick: Figuring out how to engage members so that