PRO BONO & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP has a strong tradition of commitment to pro bono activities. The firm’s many relationships with public interest organizations provide attorneys with opportunities to become involved in important legal issues and to obtain landmark results.

For example, in the recent case Kenny A. v. Perdue, BME attorneys served as counsel for a class of children in foster care in Fulton and DeKalb Counties.  After years of litigation with the state, BME helped the plaintiffs achieve a settlement that commits the State of Georgia to substantial reforms in the foster care system.  BME attorneys also secured a ruling from the federal district court – the first of its kind in the nation – holding that children in foster care are entitled to adequate legal representation before the juvenile courts.  Kenny A. v. Perdue, 356 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (N.D. Ga. 2005).

In another recent case, BME attorneys Jeffrey Bramlett and David Brackett teamed with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the AARP, and former Governor Roy Barnes in the representation of fourteen consumers challenging the business practices of the Stewart Finance Company, a high-interest predatory lender that targeted elderly and disabled recipients of Social Security.  The consumers' lawsuit, which received local and national media attention, triggered regulatory scrutiny by numerous state and federal agencies and led to significant limitations on the company's future conduct.  BME's success on this matter case has and continues to provide important benefits and protections to Georgia consumers.

BME partner John E. Floyd served as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the successful prosecution of Sidney Dorsey, the former sheriff of Dekalb County, Georgia. Dorsey was convicted of the murder of his elected successor, violations of the Georgia RICO statute and related offenses.  John also successfully argued for affirmance of the conviction in the Supreme Court of Georgia.  Dorsey v. State, 279 Ga. 534, 615 S.E.2d 512 (2005).  John's work on this matter has received both local and national acclaim.

Attorneys at the firm regularly serve as appointed counsel in criminal appeals and habeas corpus proceedings.  For example, attorneys at the firm recently participated in the successful appeal of a conviction of a defendant with mental retardation.  The case established a more rigorous standard of review for findings of competence to stand trial in Georgia courts.  Sims v. State, 279 Ga. 389, 614 S.E.2d 73 (2005).  BME attorneys have successfully argued in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on numerous other pro bono matters.  See, e.g, Brown v. Sikes, 212 F.3d 1205 (11^th Cir. 2000).

Partner Emmet J. Bondurant was instrumental in the movement to ensure adequate funding for indigent defense in Georgia, and currently serves as Chairman of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council.