Two Savannah Natives and A. E. Beach High School Graduates Inducted Into Legal Hall of Fame

Clyde Mize, Jr., Esq. (President-Elect), Judge Pinkie Toomer, Judge Lovett’s widow, Seletha R. Butler, Esq., P. Andrew Patterson, Esq., and Damon E. Elmore, Esq. (Vice President) | Photo by Don Morgan Photography
Clyde Mize, Jr., Esq. (President-Elect), Judge Pinkie Toomer, Judge Lovett’s widow, Seletha R. Butler, Esq., P. Andrew Patterson, Esq., and Damon E. Elmore, Esq. (Vice President) | Photo by Don Morgan Photography
A pair of Savannah natives, and Alfred E. Beach High School graduates, have been honored by the Gate City Bar Association as part of its 2017 Hall of Fame Gala for their contributions to the legal profession and the African-American community. The Honorable Willie J. Lovett, Jr. (deceased), graduated as Valedictorian from Beach in 1981. Before his passing this year, Lovett served as Presiding Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Georgia.

P. Andrew Patterson is a real estate and municipal bond lawyer with the firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP in Atlanta. The son of Rev. P. A. Patterson, Sr., Patterson reminds that he is well acquainted with the concept of “the least of these” because of his spiritual roots and religious teachings. When further describing his upbringing, he recalls “[My father] was very involved in the civil rights movement. I felt that a life of service was natural because I wanted to be like him.”

Two others have also been recognized by the bar association this year. They include the Honorable Pinkie T. Toomer, a Judge with the Fulton County Probate Court, and Keenan R. S. Nix, Esq., a partner with the trial law firm of Morgan & Morgan. Since 1997, the Gate City Bar Association has held its Hall of Fame Gala with the aim of recognizing and honoring those that have made significant contributions to Gate City and the elements of its mission, and to promote and support its scholarship fund and all of the other programs which are the lifeblood of its work. This year’s gala is Saturday, November 11, 2017.

Established in 1948, the Gate City Bar Association is the oldest African American Bar Association in the State of Georgia. It was organized by ten African American lawyers to provide the educational, social and community involvement of a professional association for African American lawyers, who had been excluded from participating in the segregated bar associations in Atlanta and throughout the State.

“Gate City is still relevant”, explains Damon Elmore, vice president for 2017. He says further, “it continues to call our attention to the state of the profession as we work to tackle old problems in new ways. It is still relevant as we look to build upon our successes each year, and address new challenges with creative and innovative strategies. The profession is better for our work.”

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