John Marshall proudly presents its 8th Annual Bobby Lee Cook Practical Legal Symposium on Friday, April 9, 2010 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. This event, which was established to honor Mr. Cook, Georgia’s renowned criminal defense and civil rights attorney, will feature prominent members of the legal community. A long-time friend of the Law School, Mr. Cook will lead the panel, which will include J. Vincent “Jay” Cook, R. Price Nimmo, Chilton Davis Varner and Judge Alvin T. Wong. This event is free and open to the public. We encourage law students, members of the bar, and interested parties to join us for this unique opportunity to benefit from the experience of these distinguished lawyers and the “dean” of Georgia’s criminal defense attorneys.
Bobby Lee Cook, principal of Cook & Connelly in Summerville, GA, has earned fame for his career as a criminal defense attorney and representation in some of the most controversial criminal trials in the state. He is believed by many to have inspired the character of “Matlock” in the television series. Mr. Cook’s influence extends beyond Georgia, as he has also represented national and international figures. Early in his career, Mr. Cook served in the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate before becoming a State Court Judge. Mr. Cook’s achievements were recognized by the Georgia Bar in 1994, when it named him Trial Lawyer of the Year.
J. Vincent “Jay” Cook is a veteran trial lawyer, having achieved significant judgments and settlements for clients in cases involving wrongful death, personal injury, business torts, and commercial and construction litigation. He is a respected leader in Georgia’s legal community, is past president of the State Bar of Georgia, president of the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, and former president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Western Circuit Bar Association. Mr. Cook has written and edited numerous publications on the law and has conducted seminars on medical malpractice. He is the Managing Partner of Cook Noell Tolley & Bates LLP in Athens, Georgia.
R. Price Nimmo is a partner with Nimmo, Hoehn & Nimmo in Nashville, Tennessee. He is an experienced litigator, focusing his practice on matters of personal injury, insurance defense, criminal defense, products liability, and family law.
Chilton Varner has 30 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer defending corporations in product liability, business torts, contract and other commercial disputes. Ms. Varner was appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist in 2004 and re-appointed by Chief Justice Roberts in 2007 to the Federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee, where she has participated in the Committee’s drafting of amendments governing electronic discovery and consideration of changes to the Rules governing summary judgment and expert discovery. Ms. Varner speaks regularly on women’s issues for the American Bar Association and DRI. She currently practices with King & Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia.
Judge Alvin T. Wong has served on the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia for eleven years. A 1976 graduate of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Judge Wong is the only Asian Pacific American to be elected judge in the Southeast. Judge Wong serves on the Fernbank Museum of Natural History Board of Trustees, the Georgia Commission on Access and Fairness in the Courts, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Law Foundation Board.