In order to encourage and support local and voluntary bars and their service programs, to promote activities which relate to the improvement of the administration of justice, the objectives of the State Bar of Georgia, and the image of lawyers, the State Bar annually sponsors an awards program which recognizes excellence in local and voluntary bar associations. Administered by the Local and Voluntary Bars Committee, awards are presented to winners at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting.
Awards are presented for the 2024-25 Bar year which began July 1, 2024.
Each local or voluntary bar association recognized by the State Bar is eligible to submit an entry for the Local and Voluntary Bar Activities Awards. The following categories relating to membership size will be used in judging the Award of Merit, Law Day Award, Newsletter Award and Website Award:
The deadline for entry is March 28, 2025. Entries must be received via email by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, March 28, to be eligible for judging. Late entries will not be judged.
For 2025, only electronic submissions will be accepted. Hardcopy submissions (scrapbooks, newsletters, bound-printed material) should be converted for judging. Large submissions can be posted to a file-sharing site (DropBox, Google Drive, etc.) Email submissions as attachments or link to file-sharing site to Ashley Stollar at ashleys@gabar.org.
Entries should be submitted separately for each category. Entries in the Award of Merit, Law Day Award, Newsletter Award, Website Award and Thomas R. Burnside Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award categories must be accompanied by a completed copy of the award submission form for that category.
Members of the Local and Voluntary Bars Committee will serve as judges and select the winners. The judges’ decisions on winners are final. The judges may make an award, at their discretion, in one or more of the membership categories. Should the committee need further assistance, the president of the State Bar of Georgia will have final determination.
Awards of Merit are given to voluntary bar associations for their dedication to improving relations among local lawyers and devoting endless hours to serving their communities. The bar associations are judged according to size.
Each entry should include the following on the submission form:
Download the Award of Merit submission form here.
In 1961, Congress declared May 1 as Law Day USA. It is a special time for Americans to celebrate their liberties and rededicate themselves to the ideals of equality and justice under the law. Every year, voluntary bar associations plan Law Day activities in their respective communities to commemorate this occasion. This award will be presented to voluntary bars that provide the best Law Day activities.
Each entry should include an outline of the organization's law day activities on the submission form. (News clippings, photographs, copies of posters, press releases, etc., from the activities are encouraged.)
Download the Law Day Award submission form here.
This award is presented to voluntary bars that provide the best informational source to their membership.
Budget and frequency of publication should all be addressed in the submission form. For printed newsletters, please scan at least three copies of past issues from the 2024-25 Bar year, depending on frequency of publication. For electronic newsletters, please submit a URL where past issues may be viewed.
Download Newsletter Award submission form here.
This award is given to bar associations with websites that exemplify excellence in usefulness, ease of use, content and design in meeting the needs of the website’s targeted audience.
Websites will be judged upon the following:
When submitting a website entry, please provide the answers to the following questions on the submission form:
Download the Website Award submission form here.
This award is given to honor an individual for a lifetime commitment to the legal profession and the justice system in Georgia through dedicated service to a local or circuit bar, practice area bar or minority bar.
Nominations for the Thomas R. Burnside Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award which meet the following criteria are encouraged:
For this award, please submit a letter highlighting the nominee's qualifications, as well as a completed submission form.
Download the Thomas R. Burnside Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award submission form here.
One or more awards will be given to associations entering the Award of Merit or Law Day Award competitions for the first time within the last four years. This award will be based on excellence of the entry and the judges reserve the right to determine whether the award should be a single award, or one presented in each category, depending primarily upon the degree of new participation. (No separate entry in this category is needed. The committee will make a final determination based on all entries.)
The judges will recommend to the Bar president an award of a traveling President’s Cup to the most outstanding local or voluntary bar association from within all membership categories. The State Bar president will have the final decision on this award. Any bar association that submits an entry in any category, with the exception of the Thomas R. Burnside Excellence in Bar Leadership Award, is eligible for the President’s Cup. (No separate entry in this category is needed. The committee and State Bar president will determine the recipient.)
In describing the association’s overall activities, the entry may describe bar meetings (programs, guests, social activities), legal aid participation, legal reference services, public information programs, grievance procedures, opposition to illegal activities in the community, involvement with law students, legal education programs, etc.
The judges will be more interested in knowing the beneficiaries of and participants in such programs and the ingenuity shown in projects rather than in the method of entry presentation.
Remember, only electronic submissions will be accepted. Hardcopy submissions (scrapbooks, newsletters, bound-printed material) will need to be converted for judging. Large submissions can be posted to a file-sharing site (DropBox, Google Drive, etc.)
Contact Ashley Stollar at 404-527-8792 or ashleys@gabar.org.
Local and Voluntary Bars
The State Bar of Georgia is not authorized to refer clients to lawyers, but many local and voluntary bar associations offer referrals.
View Local Bar Information