Articles Posted in State Bar of Georgia

It is with great sadness that I report that we have lost an amazing jurist on the Georgia Appellate Bench, Judge Debra Bernes. Judge Debra Bernes was truly an incredible woman and wonderful judge. Gone too soon. I will miss her and the citizens of the State of Georgia will miss her, because we have lost a compassionate heart and voice on the Georgia Court of Appeals with her passing. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to her husband and family. God Bless You.

Appeals court judge Debra Bernes dies of cancer

ShareThisPrint E-mail By Bill Rankin and Ty Tagami

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sarah I. Coole

June 21, 2010 Director of Communications

404-527-8700; 800-334-6865

Friday, May 14, 2010

Incumbent unseated in State Bar election

It was the first time in memory that an office holder was challenged

I am honored and humbled to have won the election and to be the next Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. Thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without you. I am looking forward to serving you and to moving the State Bar forward.

Thanks for your votes, thanks for your asking your colleagues for their votes, thanks for your continued encouragement and and thanks for your moral support throughout what was a time and energy intensive statewide campaign. As Secretary I will work to protect the interests of the Everyday Georgian, keep the judiciary independent and preserve the Georgia Civil Justice System. I look forward to serving you this upcoming Bar year and please do not hestitate to call me or email me to share any ideas, suggestions or concerns you have about the Bar.

Thanks again. And take it from a trial lawyer: A rising tide lifts all boats!

April 30, 2010

Dear Friends:

First, let me thank you for the hundreds of telephone calls, emails, texts and well wishes you have sent my way to let me know you have already voted for me and that you support me in the race for Secretary of the State Bar. Remember, voting continues through May 3, so if you haven’t voted already there is still time. Campaigning throughout the State of Georgia and shaking literally thousands of hands and meeting thousands of my fellow Bar members has been an extremely rewarding experience for me and I’ll never forget it. Many of you who know me know my motto is “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.” This journey has certainly been one of “rising tides” and has made me even prouder to be a Georgia lawyer.

Dear Friends:

First, let me thank you for the hundreds of telephone calls, emails, texts and well wishes you have sent my way to let me know you have already voted for me and that you support me in the race for Secretary of the State Bar. Remember, voting continues through May 3, so if you haven’t voted already there is still time. Campaigning throughout the State of Georgia and shaking literally thousands of hands and meeting thousands of my fellow Bar members has been an extremely rewarding experience for me and I’ll never forget it. Many of you who know me know my motto is “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.” This journey has certainly been one of “rising tides” and has made me even prouder to be a Georgia lawyer.

Sharing ideas and the vision with you of building a better Bar has been motivational. I am deeply honored that 32 of the 37 Lawyer-Legislators of the Georgia General Assembly, including the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the House Civil Judiciary Committee, the Chairman of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee, the House Majority Whip and the House Minority Leader, endorsed my candidacy. These are Legislators from both sides of the aisle, who deal with both civil and non-civil issues, who, in their words, know me as an “effective advocate who brings much-needed credibility to discussions under the Gold Dome.” I have their respect, which is absolutely necessary if the State Bar is going to have a seat at the table when the Georgia Legislature is considering legislation that affects our clients and our profession. I will use that respect and standing on behalf of the State Bar if elected Secretary.

Dear Friends:

I have traveled the four corners of the State of Georgia during this campaign for Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia, from Bartow County to Dougherty County, from the Blue Ridge Circuit to the Stone Mountain Circuit, and from Macon to Savannah, I have grown ever more proud of our honorable profession and what you do to help the citizens of Georgia every day. I have attended over 30 bar association meetings and events and have shaken the hands

of literally thousands of you in an effort to get to know you, to learn more about your practices and to understand your concerns about the State Bar of Georgia. In fact, you may view many photographs from those campaign stops at my Facebook Group “Lawyers for Robin Frazer Clark for Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia” at

Many of you know I am currently in a contested race for Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. Thus far, I have attended 24 events to campaign for the race. It has been my pleasure touring the State of Georgia and meeting lawyers from the four corners of the state who have every variety of law practice imaginable. Today, I took out a day from campaigning and attended the State of the Judiciary Address delivered today by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, Carol Hunstein, who did an outstanding job. The Chief delivered the address before a Joint Session of the Georgia Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives. The remaining members of the Georgia Supreme Court were present as was the entire Georgia Court of Appeals. Very impressive pomp and circumstance, with the utmost of formalities. But most impressive was Chief Justice Hunstein’s poise and substance of her speech. We all should be proud that Carol Hunstein is our Chief Justice.

I am proud to announce my candidacy for the office of Secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. This is an important election because it will determine the direction the State Bar takes in the next few years. I believe my experience working with the Georgia General Assembly as President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and in the years since then, will greatly help the State Bar’s effectiveness with the Legislature, which I believe will be crucial in the coming years.

Below is my letter announcing that I am running for Secretary that I sent to the Executive Committee of the State Bar and to the Board of Governors:

Dear Friends:

As a member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia, I am proud that our Executive Committee makes a concerted effort to get outside of Atlanta and meet our fellow Georgia Bar members in the four corners of the state. Last week’s meeting in Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia is a prime example of this. We enjoyed lunch first with many members of the local Thomas County Bar , which is part of the Southern Judicial Circuit. We met at Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, which is a lovely location. The President of the Thomas County Bar Association, Christopher Rodd, was our host for the evening and for the tour of the new Thomas County Courthouse, which is not yet open for business but will be a spectacular venue. It is always a treat for me to meet members of the State Bar from across the state, who, but for my involvement in the State Bar of Georgia, I would likely never have the opportunity to meet. The theme that keeps coming through in these meetings in varied locales is this: the lawyers who comprise the State Bar of Georgia are honorable, dedicated leaders of their communities, who care about justice being served, who care about the less fortunate and who care about the criminal and civil judicial systems in Georgia and the stewardship of those two sacred systems. It is my honor to meet and come to know these lawyers and to discuss the issues they face in their communities that are worlds apart from Atlanta.

Below is a letter from Bryan Cavan, President of the State Bar of Georgia, another honorable lawyer, regarding our wonderful meeting in Thomasville.

Letter to the Editor – November 19, 2009