Section Awards

JOSEPH T. TUGGLE JR. AWARD

The Family Law Convocation on Professionalism was commenced in March of 1992 in response to the Supreme Court's initiative on professionalism. The Convocation is held annually and involves discussion and analysis of issues regarding judicial and lawyer professionalism. Starting in 1995, the Family Law Section in conjunction with the Convocation on Professionalism established the Family Law Section Professionalism Award. The award was given in recognition of the person who the Section deems to have most exemplified the aspirational qualities of professionalism in their practice as a lawyer and/or a judge. In 1999, the award was officially named the Joseph T. Tuggle, Jr. Professionalism Award and was given to him that year shortly before his death.

Past recipients include:
1995 - The Honorable Hilton M. Fuller Jr.
1996 - The Honorable Elizabeth R. Glazebrook
1997 - Ms. Debra A. Segal
1998 - M.T. Simmons Jr.
1999 - Joseph T. Tuggle Jr.
2000 - The Honorable Cynthia D. Wright
2001 - The Honorable Mary E. Staley
2002  - The Honorable Louisa Abbot
2003 - H. Martin Huddleston
2004 - John C. Mayoue
2005 - The Honorable Carol W. Hunstein
2006 - Deborah A. Johnson

THE JACK P. TURNER AWARD

The Jack P. Turner Award was initiated in 1992 to recognize outstanding contributions and achievements in the area of family law. The Award receives its title from Jack P. Turner who is the first recipient of the Award and was recognized for having singlehandedly elevated the a family law practice in Georgia, for being the creator and first editor of the Family Law Newsletter and was editor from 1976 to 2001, the first Chair of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, the first Chair of the Family Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and the founding member of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

The criteria for the Award are a career devoted to the practice of family law with substantial and significant contributions to improve and advance the practice of family law in the State of Georgia. It also includes recognition by the recipient's peers as an outstanding lawyer, a record of integrity and fairness, a commitment to assist other members of the Bar and the practice of family law and by taking the practice of family law to a higher level of increased respectability and recognition.

Past recipients include:
1987 - Jack P. Turner, Atlanta
1994 - M.T. Simmons Jr., Decatur
1997 - Carl E. Westmoreland, Macon
2000 - C. Wilbur Warner Jr., Atlanta
2001 - Baxter L. Davis, Atlanta
2002 - The Honorable G. Conley Ingram, Marietta
2003 - H. William Sams Jr., Augusta
2005 - Christopher D. Olmstead, Atlanta
2006 - The Honorable Cynthia D. Wright, Atlanta