Nominations for the 2013 award are closed. The award presentation will take place Thursday, April 11. 

The Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award is presented each year by Georgia State University College of Law to a Georgia attorney whose overall accomplishments reflect the high tradition of selfless public service that our founding dean, Ben F. Johnson Jr., exemplified during his career and life. The award is not limited to graduates of Georgia State Law.

"Ben F. Johnson Jr. worked tirelessly to ensure equal access to the legal profession through helping private schools integrate without losing their tax exempt status and helping restore part-time, ABA-accredited legal education to Atlanta at Georgia State," says Steven J. Kaminshine, dean and professor of law. "His commitment to public service is exemplary for all Georgia lawyers."

2012 Recipient Prominent health law attorney and Georgia State faculty fellow Randall L. Hughes began volunteering with Atlanta Legal Aid nearly 40 years ago. Since then, he has served on the board and as president of Atlanta Legal Aid, volunteered with the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights and provided pro bono services for the statewide Seniors Legal Hotline. The Atlanta Falcons honored Hughes with a 2011 Community Quarterback Award in recognition of his work with Atlanta Legal Aid. Hughes, who retired from private practice in 2008, plays an integral role in the Georgia State’s Health Law Partnership Clinic.

Past Recipients 2012: Randall L. Hughes 2011: Emmet J. Bondurant 2010: Horace Sibley 2009: Steven Gottlieb 2008: The Hon. Orinda D. Evans 2007: John T. Marshall 2006: Linda K. DiSantis(J.D. ’88) 2005: The Hon. Anthony A. Alaimo 2004: The Hon. Robert Benham 2003: Stephen B. Bright 2002: The Hon. Griffin B. Bell 2001: Clifford Oxford 2000: The Hon. Luther A. Alverson 1999: Paul Cadenhead 1998: Randolph W. Thrower 1997: The Hon. Dorothy Toth Beasley 1996: The Hon. Harold G. Clarke 1995: Donald L. Hollowell 1994: The Hon. Elbert P. Tuttle

 

Throughout his legal career, Ben F. Johnson Jr. worked tirelessly to ensure access to all and diversify the legal field. As dean of Emory University School of Law, he and trustee Henry Bowden Sr. successfully challenged Georgia’s racist law that denied state tax exemptions to integrated private schools. This opened the way for Emory and other schools to admit minority students without losing their tax-exempt status.

As the founding dean of Georgia State University's College of Law, Johnson helped make possible the return of ABA-accredited, part-time legal education to Atlanta and enable part-time students to obtain a first-class legal education. He also was principal author of the legislation that creating the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

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