Georgia Lawyer Linda Klein is 2009 Recipient of Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Service Award

CHICAGO, July 10, 2009 — The American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section is honoring Linda Klein of Atlanta, with the Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Service Award.  The award recognizes TIPS members who exemplify the attributes embodied by the late Sen. Muskie: his dedication to justice for all citizens, his public service, and his role as a lawyer and distinguished leader of the section.

The award will be presented to Klein during the American Bar Association 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago, at the TIPS Leadership Awards Dinner on Sunday, Aug. 2, from 6:30 to10 p.m. at the John G. Shedd Aquarium.

Klein is a managing shareholder in the Georgia offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, and of the firm’s board of directors. She has been practicing law for more than 25 years, primarily representing plaintiffs and defendants in construction and employment litigation, and advising business owners. She mediates and arbitrates disputes both as an advocate and as a neutral.

“Linda Klein is the epitome of a distinguished and devoted leader, not only because of her roles within TIPS, but because of her involvement in so many other organizations and her commitment to public service. Her long-standing involvement with our section as well as her dedication to the rule of law and justice for all is unparalleled. We are honored to be able to present her with this award,” said TIPS Section Chair Timothy Bouch of Charleston, S.C.

In 1998, Georgia Trend Magazine named Klein one of the 100 most powerful and influential Georgians. Atlanta Magazine has named her a Georgia Super Lawyer and one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Georgia annually since 2004. In 2001, she was the first recipient of the Outstanding Woman in the Profession Achievement Award presented by the Atlanta Bar Association. In 2004 the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession honored Klein with the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field, paving the way to success for other women lawyers. In 2006, Klein was honored by Business to Business Magazine with their Women of Excellence Award and in 2007, was named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of Georgia’s Legal Elite. In 2009, she was the recipient of the Randolph Thrower Award for Lifetime Achievement and was named to the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.  She is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, Who’s Who in America and Chambers USA.

In June 1997, Klein became the first woman to serve as president of the State Bar of Georgia. From 2003-04, she was chair of the ABA TIPS Section.  She is the immediate past chair of the Committee on Rules and Calendar of the ABA House of Delegates, and chair of the ABA Coalition for Justice. She holds numerous board of director positions, including Southface Energy Institute and Neighbor to Family. She is a past president of the Board of Directors’ Network, past president of the Caucus of State Bars, and past chair of both the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia and the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia.

Klein has a long and praiseworthy history of involvement with the ABA TIPS Section. In addition to serving as section chair, she served as a member of the section council from 1998 to 2005, and is now chair of the ABA/TIPS Committee. In addition, Klein served as chair of several TIPS task forces and committees including the Task Force on Outreach to State & Local Bar Associations, the Annual Meeting Program Committee, the Long Range Planning Committee, the Subcommittee on Empowerment and Governance, the Trial Techniques Committee, and the Legislative Division. She served as vice chair for the Fidelity & Surety Committee and the Law Practice Management Committee. Klein has also been involved with the TIPS Pro Bono Honor Roll, the Diversity, Emerging Issues, Financial, and Membership Committees and the CLE Board, Communications Coordinating Group and Professionalism Committee.

Klein has written numerous published works, primarily on construction topics. Her lecture schedule has included presentations in France, Sweden and Canada, but most extensively in the southeast United States. She is a member of the American Law Institute, and a certified mediator and arbitrator.

In 1980, Klein earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree cum laude from Union College and in 1983 earned her JD from Washington & Lee University School of Law, where she was a Burks Scholar Teaching Fellow and was involved with the National Moot Court Team and Phi Alpha Delta.

The ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section unites plaintiff, defense, insurance and corporate counsel to advance the civil justice system. TIPS is a national source of expertise in tort, trial and insurance practice and brings lawyers together to share information and speak out on issues of importance. The section, with over 32,000 members, has 34 general committees that focus on substantive and procedural matters in areas across the broad spectrum of civil law and practice. For more information about the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section visit the TIPS Web site, www.abanet.org/tips.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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Editors Note: Reporters are welcome to attend the award presentation and reception at the Annual Meeting. Media credentials can be obtained in the ABA Press Room at the Hyatt Regency Chicago or by contacting Debbie Weixl, ABA Division for Media Relations and Communication Services, at 312/988-6126 or e-mail weixld@staff.abanet.org. On site, call 847/902-9019.