(Atlanta, GA / August 8, 2013) Baker Donelson is pleased to announce that Linda Klein has been named a "Champion of Justice" by the Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP). Champions are a group of individuals selected and honored annually for their contributions as volunteer leaders in GLSP's mission of providing justice for all.
Ms. Klein is managing shareholder for Baker Donelson's Georgia offices and is a member of the Firm's Board of Directors. She was selected as a "Champion of Justice" for her years of service and dedication to the cause of access to justice for all. As the first female president of the State Bar of Georgia, she conceived and implemented a plan to secure $2 million from the Georgia General Assembly for legal services to survivors of domestic violence. To date, over $35 million has been appropriated for that purpose. Ms. Klein also chaired the board of the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia and served on the board of the Georgia Bar Foundation, ensuring that resources from those organizations are directed to legal services for the poor.
In 1999, Ms. Klein received the State Bar of Georgia's H. Sol Clark Pro Bono Award and in 2004, the American Bar Association honored her with the prestigious Margaret Brent Achievement Award. In 2009, Ms. Klein was honored with the Randolph Thrower Award for Lifetime Achievement and was named to the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers. As a leader of the American Bar Association, she continues to actively support civil legal services for the poor by annually lobbying the Georgia congressional delegation to support the Legal Services Corporation and by speaking and writing about the cause of justice for all.
The 2013 class of Champions includes three lawyers, one community activist and one former staff member, who all support the GLSP and its mission of providing access to justice and avenues out of poverty for low-income people all over the state outside the Metro Atlanta area. The Champions of Justice themselves act as ambassadors for GLSP with the Bar, state and federal policy makers, and the public at large.