(L-R) Chairman, William F. “Trey” Underwood, III Presents .

DEFENSEJohn A. DickersonIntroduced byDennis CathyGood morning, everyone. I am hereto introduce a titan of the NortheastGeorgia Mountain Circuit Bar - myfriend John Dickerson. I was goingto commence this talk by recognizing the eminence and prestige of theaugust luminaries who are presenthere but there are so many of them ifI referenced all of them I would nothave time for my talk and if I didn’treference all of them someone’s egowould be bruised. As a matter offact, this room has never before seenthis infusion of ego with the possible exception of the one time whenSteve Spurrier was in this room andate alone. But I do look around andrecognize so many people who havebeen so instrumental delivering civiland criminal justice to the citizensof the State of Georgia. Among thepeople here who are to be given thehighest accolades are those who haveheretofore received the Tradition ofExcellence Award. It is truly the castof a hall of fame of the State Bar. TheGeneral Practice and Trial Section ofthe State Bar is to be commended forcreating this recognition and it bringstogether friends and colleagues whocan say on this one day at this unholyhour “thank you, we honor you andwe respect you.”Today, my friend from Toccoa,Georgia, will join that pantheon of legal legends. He has already receivedmany honors, about as many as oneman can have, but I hope this one willbe a little special to him.When John received this award hecalled and asked me if I would present the award to him. I said to him“John, for the last 30 years you havemade me your lackey in courtroomsthroughout North Georgia so howcan I say no?” John and I startedpractice at about the same time andwe are about the same age and bothof us practice in the Mountain Judicial Circuit. There is a physical barrier between our two counties knownas Currahee Mountain. For some ofyou who might not know that wasthe training ground of the reveredand historical Band of Brothers ofWorld War II. There was also the gulfof philosophies between a plaintiff’slawyer - the good guys of which I represent - and the defense lawyers - theblack hats, who John has made a career of representing. Now don’t getme wrong, John has done lots of workother than insurance defense work.He has been renowned for his work inmunicipal law representing a wide ascontinued on next page5

Introduction for John A. Dickersoncontinued from previous pagesortment of cities and towns in NorthGeorgia including my home townMountain City for which I am eternally grateful. However, we saw eachother mostly in the world of plaintiffversus defendant. I often introducedJohn to my children as “Kids, here isa man who is trying to keep you fromgoing to college.”Let me tell you a little about John asa man and as a person who is unsurpassed in character. A little history:John was born in Hartwell, Georgia,and he is the son of the late Fay andLaura Elizabeth Dickerson. Fay wasthe John Deere dealer in Hart Countyand there are still stories out there ofa young Dickerson boy - probably tooyoung to drive - delivering one of theJohn Deere tractors out to the farmsof the tractor customers. No low boytrailer here. John Dickerson wouldsimply jump on the John Deere tractorand drive it on the public roads out tothe farms. The rumor is that is how hegot his unparalleled knowledge of theRules of the Road which he trots outto his client’s advantage oftentimes.Also, it was in the hard scrabble terrain of Hart County that he fell inlove with Paula Merat. They becamesweethearts in junior high and highschool and eventually because of someunremembered coercion he convincedPaula to become his wife. It’s oftensaid that behind every successful manthere is an astonished mother-in-lawand Paula’s mother, Mrs. Merat, wasno exception – that’s a joke; she lovedhim. Johnny went off to Clemson University across the river in South Carolina and there he achieved everythingthat an undergraduate could possiblyachieve. He was president of the student senate, he was president of BlueKey, he was president of his fraternity- but let’s face it - it was just Clemson.He overcame the impediment of having attended Clemson and soughtredemption at the Lumpkin Schoolof Law at the University of Georgiawhere miraculously his achievementscontinued. But, alas, he remained aClemson Tiger who bleeds orange.6In 1972, he became an associate atthe law firm of McClure, Ramsay &Struble and has been a named partner at McClure, Ramsay, Dickerson& Escoe for the last 44 years. I realize that by just looking at him you donot think that it is possible that he hasbeen at it that long! In this day andtime with the fluid movement of lawyers in the eternal quest for a biggerand better deal it is quite unusual forsomeone to stay with a practice, demonstrate their loyalty and become asolid part of the community like Johnhas done. John’s contribution to thecivic and professional world is hardto grasp, especially when we considerthe eclectic nature of it. He has beeninstrumental in the Mountain CircuitBar and he has been the past chair ofthe administrative board of the FirstUnited Methodist Church of Toccoa.That’s another common denominatorbetween me and John - we are bothMethodists. John was president of theCity Attorneys’ section of the GeorgiaMunicipal Association and served ahitch as a member of the disciplinaryboard of the State Bar. He has beena director of the Georgia Chamber ofCommerce; he has been a past chairman of the parents’ council at Presbyterian College; he has been on thestatewide Judicial Evaluation Committee; and he has received the ChiefJustice Thomas O. Marshal professionalism award as well as the RobertB. Struble professional award. He is amember of the Old War Horse Club;he is recognized as a Georgia SuperLawyer; he is an Eagle Scout; he servedas past president of the Toccoa LittleLeague; and he has been elected intomembership of the American Collegeof Trial Lawyers – pretty heady stufffor an old tractor delivery boy. We uphere in the Mountain Circuit are veryproud of him.I’ve never heard anybody say a badword about John Dickerson and I’venever heard one person utter a wordof envy or jealousy about him. Whata thing that can be said about a manin this day and time. I can say this tohim here now and not at the AcreeDavis Funeral Home in Toccoa.He and Paula have three children.Allen and his wife Kim live in Marietta. Allen works for the GeorgiaMunicipal Association and they havea daughter Merat - named after hermom’s family and son Johnny namedafter his old grandpa. They call Johnny the “Tornado” also like his oldgrandpa.The second son, Corey,and his wife, Jennifer, live in Jefferson where Corey coaches football andJennifer teaches. Corey and Jenniferhave two children as well. Anotherboy and a girl - Will and Madison.Of course, there is the third son that Iknow the best of all and that’s his sonDavid who practices with the firm ofWhelchel Dunlap in Gainesville following in his daddy’s footsteps bydoing a lot of medical malpracticedefense work. He and his wife Mistyhave two daughters, Emily and Ansley Grace. In talking to David abouthis dad he said: “Now that all us boyshave children, we can fully appreciatehow our daddy never missed a tennis match, a track meet or a baseballgame. Now I know how daddy didit. He would go to that office at 5:00 inthe morning and stay as late it took inorder to be there for us and our events.I know now how he did it. We all hadsports heroes when we came up andwe realized early on - the three boys- that we’d never be sports figuresso our hero vision changed from theBobby Hurleys and the other Dukebasketball players to our own dadwho was right there in our house.”For the past 28 years John has beenworking with his main paralegal Darlene Cordell who is indispensable toJohn. What does that say - 28 years inthe pressure cooker of litigation practice? Darlene’s only comment was,“We know how to take care of eachother, but he tells me he’s way too dependent on me.”I solicited some comments from ourtwo Superior Court judges who areactive right now by saying, “Look I’mgonna talk about John, how about giv-

ing me a comment or two?” Of course,knowing my irreverence, they bothfigured they’d better say somethingpretty nice.Judge Chan Caudell:“Every encounter I’ve had with JohnDickerson in the almost 25 years I’veknown him have been memorable.The experience is memorable becauseof John’s remarkable command of thefacts and law that apply to the dispute. That talent combined with hisability to recognize the strengths andwillingness to concede the weaknesses of his case make him an example Iwish all young lawyers could modelthemselves after.” These are the comments from Superior Court JudgeRusty Smith: “John is the consummate professional. He is one of thelawyers that you think of if you readthe State Bar’s aspirational statementon professionalism. From a judge’sstandpoint, John is a problem-solver.In every conference we have everhad he always says ‘Judge, let’s makethis easy’ and he proposes an imminently fair solution that everyone elsehas overlooked. I’ve never seen himwaste one second of time looking toblame opposing counsel no matterhow difficult they may be. With Johnthere are no contentious discovery orscheduling disputes; I’ve never seenhim become angry; he is courteousand kind to everyone. He also takesevery opportunity to contribute to theprofession and to our community.”According to Robert Struble, John’sformer partner who later became aSuperior Court Judge in 1982, whenhe told John he was going to acceptthe appointment to the SuperiorCourt bench John expressed concernin his own abilities, worried that hewas too young and too inexperienced,and was afraid he couldn’t handle allthe litigation on his own. The Judgereplied “John, if you weren’t ready, Iwouldn’t be leaving this firm.” Boy,was he ready!I leave you with this: as an observerof the State Bar of Georgia for all thesemany years, I could name no personwho has such a combination of energy, dignity, grace, professionalismand competence as John Dickerson.He’s a good citizen, a good husband,a good father, a good colleague anda really good man. From a personalstandpoint, when I thought about thatwhich impresses me most about JohnDickerson, over and above the thingsI’ve already told you about him, onecharacter trait came to mind and thatis the respect and deference he givesthe other litigants in the case and notjust the lawyers. John projects thefeeling that while there may be differences of opinion about the facts ofthe case, he is ever mindful that heis often dealing with a human beingwho has suffered great tragedy andloss. Even though he never compromises his client’s position, he treatsother people with such courtesy anddignity that the process is more tolerable for everyone involved. And, someof you lawyers know what I am talking about - it makes my job a lot easierdealing with my own clients and forthat, John, I am eternally grateful.He is a man who has a heart and understands that you can use that heartwithout compromising your positionin any way. I am proud to be a friendof John Dickerson.Remarks byJohn A. DickersonThank you, Dennis. I am humbled and honoredto be the recipient of this award. I know and/orhave worked with the vast majority of lawyerswho are past recipients of this award. To be onthe same page with these extraordinary membersof the Bar is mind-numbing.Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates recentlyreminded us of our responsibility at a recent commencement address when she said, “Whether it’sresolving a civil dispute, or ensuring that an individual criminally accused is afforded his rights oris fairly prosecuted citizens of our country can’tobtain justice without lawyers.”Justice in our world requires lawyers.I would be remiss if I did not recognize my wifeand my family. I have three sons, three daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren. My wife and especially the children as they were growing up weretolerant and understanding of the demands of thetrial practice. Time and time again my wife hashad to put up with me waking up in the middle ofthe morning during a trial week struggling to findout how to deal with a particular piece of evidence.She knew when to be circumspect when I lost a bigcase. She knew that the end of a long trial didn’tmean a night on the town, but rather meant fallingasleep in the chair during the evening news.Even though my name will be on the list andmy name is engraved on this plaque, none of thiswould have been possible without Paula’s supportwin or lose. Thank you, Paula. Thank you, Alan,Cory, and David, and thank all of you.7

GENERALPRACTICEJohn W. TimmonsIntroduced byJennifer RileyThe County Seat Lawyer:“He resolved problems by what he called ‘first principles.’He did not specialize, nor did he pick and choose clients. Herarely declined service to worthy ones because of inabilityto pay He never quit. He could think of motions for everypurpose under the sun, and he made them all. He movedfor new trials, he appealed; and if he lost out in the end, hejoined the client at the tavern in damning the judge – which isthe last rite in closing an unsuccessful case. The law to himwas like a religion, and its practice was more than a means ofsupport; it was a mission.”The Honorable Robert H. Jackson, 36 A.B.A. J. 497 (1950).I am so pleased to be here withyou this morning and to have thehonor and the privilege to introduce, my step-father and a manwho truly personifies Justice Jackson’s County Seat Lawyer: JohnTimmons, this year’s recipient ofthe Tradition of Excellence Awardin General Practice.In preparation for this speech,I realized I needed to learn something about the award John is receiving. I read every introduction8of every recipient from 2001 to thepresent, and what I learned is this:The awards that are being given outthis morning are a very big deal.They require: a minimum of 20 years of outstanding achievement as a lawyer, a significant contribution to continuing legal education and theGeorgia Bar, a record of community service,and

a personal commitment to excellence.The past recipients are a who’s whoof Georgia lawyers: Judge GriffinBell, Chief Justice Norman Fletcher,Justice George Carley, Frank Jones,John Marshall, Buddy Darden, CathyCox. The list is long.There are currently 45,000 members of the Georgia State Bar – giveor take a few. There were four peopleselected for the Tradition of Excellence award in 2016. I am a lawyer,not a mathematician, but that putsthis year’s recipients in a very elitegroup.In 2004, during an introduction ofhis brother (John C. Bell, Jr.) for theTradition in Excellence Award for thePlaintiff’s Bar, David Bell said thatthere are three questions you shouldask in assessing a recipient for theTradition in Excellence award:“Is the profession better?”“Have you helped people?”“Does the community benefit from whatyou did?”Considering these questions, noone is more deserving than John: He has bettered the professionthrough his unflagging commitment to integrity and passionateadvocacy on behalf of his clients,irrespective of their circumstancesor place in the world, He has not turned away clients because they cannot pay or becausetheir causes – or they – are not popular, and The community as a whole hasbeen the beneficiary of his tirelessdedication to public service – fromhis service in the Marines to hisservice to the Bar.John grew up in Atlanta on EastAndrews - a formerly sleepy streetwhose homes, which once housedfamilies, today house shops and restaurants.He played in the fields that nowlay beneath Lenox Mall and in the7thgrade, was the RL Hope Elemen-tary School patrolman responsiblefor controlling the traffic light at theintersection of Peachtree and Piedmont. This made him a very important person – even back in those, quieter days.John relocated up North - to Charlottesville - to attend undergrad at theUniversity of Virginia on a full academic scholarship. He came home toGeorgia in 1967 to attend law schoolat the University of Georgia.While he had many scholarlyachievements at the University ofGeorgia, John seems to be mostproud of the organization he founded while at UGA: The University ofGeorgia Rugby Football Club. Hewas its first president and is an honorary life member. Also, for years,he got free beer at the LandsdowneRoad Pub. John has always understoodthe importance of finding the fun in theserious.John graduated from Law Schoolin 1970 and after taking the BarExam, John went on active duty. Heearned a commission in the UnitedStates Marine Corps as a Captain, attending the Basic School at Quanticoand then the Naval Justice Schoolat Newport, where he qualified as ajudge advocate. He was assigned tothe Third Marine Division on Okinawa, where he served as prosecutorand defense counsel trying numerous general and special courts-martial.John returned to civilian life in1973, locating in Athens where hecontinued his role in public service asthe assistant director of the Legal Aidand Defender Society at the University of Georgia School of Law (which,at that time, he tells me, served as thepublic defender’s office).In 1976, John entered private practice in Athens – and he has been aninspiring member of the legal profession and Athens Bar for the past 40years. Over those years, he has represented every type of client, in every type of case from capital murderto underage possession (which youcan imagine, in Athens, can keep youquite busy ).John has been lead counsel in over200 jury trials and has tried cases inmore than twenty counties in Georgia and the Middle and NorthernFederal Districts. He has been therecipient of many awards and accolades. In addition to this prestigiousaward, John was selected by his peersas one of Georgia’s Top Lawyers forcriminal law in 2014.John has also served in a numberof leadership positions in the legalcommunity: He is the past chairman and trusteefor the General Practice and TrialSection of the State Bar of Georgia, A trustee for the Institute ofContinuing Legal Education inGeorgia, A fellow of the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia, The past president of the WesternCircuit Bar Association, and The past president of the MarineCorps Association of GeorgiaLawyers.I could go on and on.In 1998, I got to experience, firsthand, John’s passion, commitmentto his clients and unflagging integrity when I clerked for him duringthe summer between my first andsecond years of law school. John allowed me to tag along when he wentto court and met with his clients, andI observed as he worked through thedetails of a case and spent endlesshours in preparation for a hearing oran important meeting.That summer, I learned an incredible amount about the ins and outsof what it takes to be a successful,practicing lawyer. But, I also learnedsomething perhaps more important- a lesson that I think is universalwhether you are a solo practitioner,a lawyer in a big firm, or are workingas in-hou

David A. Sleppy Betty Simms Kristine Orr Brown Chairman Paul W. Painter, III Chairman-Elect Robert S. Register Secretary/Treasurer William F. “Trey” Underwood, III Immediate Past Chair Carl R. Varendoe Amy Purvis Holbrook Ivy Cadle Jennifer Riley Dawn M. Jones Judge Chris Edwards Thomas E. Cauthorn Senator Blake Tillery Judge Chan Caudell .