Officers

The officers of the Gate City Bar include highly trained professionals with extensive experience and training in legal techniques, analysis, and real negotiations. Click to view our Past Presidents

WILLIE J. LOVETT, JR.- PRESIDENT

Willie J. Lovett, Jr. currently serves as the Deputy County Attorney for the Fulton County Attorney’s Office. In that role, he manages all aspects of Fulton County’s litigation performed by staff attorneys and outside counsel. Fulton County’s litigation practice includes employment, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, governmental contract, taxation, tax sales, tax assessment, zoning, land use, environmental, construction, constitutional, First Amendment, Section 1983, and bankruptcy matters. He also provides day to day legal advice to the Judicial branch of Fulton County Government, which includes all Judges, the District Attorney’s Office, the Solicitor General’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Clerk of Superior Court and the Clerk of State Court. Prior to joining the Fulton County Attorney’s Office, Mr. Lovett clerked for the Honorable Joseph W. Hatchett, former Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Atlanta’s Law Department, and worked as an associate at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, Ford & Harrison, LLP and Troutman Sanders, LLP.

In 1985, Mr. Lovett earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, cum laude with Distinction in the major from Yale University, where he received the 1985 Roosevelt Thompson Prize for commitment to public service. In 1988, Mr. Lovett earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where he served as a Comments Editor on the HARVARD CIVIL RIGHTS-CIVIL LIBERTIES LAW REVIEW, and in 1991, he earned his Master of Laws in Litigation from Emory Law School. Mr. Lovett is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Mr. Lovett currently serves as President of the Gate City Bar Association, and has served as a member of the Gate City Bar Association Executive Board for the last five years. Mr. Lovett is a native of Savannah, Georgia, and is married to Seletha R. Butler, Esq.

CURTIS J. MARTIN, II - VICE PRESIDENT

Curtis J. Martin II is a partner with Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP. Mr. Martin practices in the areas of commercial litigation, automobile and trucking litigation, product liability and premises liability.

Mr. Martin received his B.B.A. from Radford University. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Valparaiso University in 2003, after spending his final year as a visiting student at Georgia State University College of Law.

Mr. Martin has engaged in numerous pro bono and civic activities in his service to the community and the legal profession. These activities include providing pro bono legal representation on behalf of the victims of domestic violence and serving as a mentor and speaker to high school students through the Metro Employers of Atlanta and other non-profit organizations. Mr. Martin is a contributor to the Atlanta Business Journal, authoring a bi-monthly column focused on legal issues.

Mr. Martin serves as the Vice President of the Gate City Bar Association and has served prior terms on the Gate City Bar Association Executive Board and Foundation Board. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association and the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association.

SHUKURA L. INGRAM – PRESIDENT-ELECT

Shukura L. Ingram is an Associate in the Litigation Section of Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP. Her principal areas of practice include wrongful death, personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance defense, premises liability and contractual relations.

Shukura received her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law in 1998 and her B.A. in English from Clark Atlanta University in 1995.

Shukura began her career as an Assistant Solicitor for the City Court of Atlanta where she first gained jury trial experience. After leaving the Solicitor’s Office, she joined the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, where she served for six years as an Assistant District Attorney.

Currently, Shukura is the Vice-President of the Gate City Bar Association. She is also a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.

Shukura has been recognized as a young lawyer “On The Rise” for 2007 by the Fulton County Daily Report.

RENEE Y. LITTLE- SECRETARY

Renee Y. Little is a Partner at Carlock Copeland & Stair, LLP. In her practice, she engages in coverage analysis and litigation, represents interstate and intrastate motor carriers in disputes involving federal and state transportation laws, and also defends medical malpractice, catastrophic injuries and wrongful death actions. She also defends individuals and corporations in cases involving premises liability and commercial transactions.  

In addition to the Gate City Bar, she is a member of the American Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Black and Women Attorneys. She served as a Barrister in the Joseph Henry Lumpkin American Inn of Court, and is a member of 2009 Class of the State Bar of Georgia's YLD Leadership Academy.

Renee earned her Bachelor of Arts Degrees at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana in the areas of Political Science and English Compensation. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2001.

AKUA D. COPPOCK - ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Akua D. Coppock is an Associate in the Litigation Section of Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP. Her principal areas of practice include general civil litigation, insurance defense, medical malpractice, and premises liability.

Akua received her B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, from Spelman College in 1995. She received her J.D., from American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D. C. in 2003.

She is a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Gate City Bar Association. Akua was a prominent member of the Gate City Bar Paralegal Section where she was the Chair of the Pro Bono Committee for three years. In 2008, she received the Clarence R. Johnson, Jr. Founders Award for outstanding service as a Paralegal.

Akua has also worked with the Truancy Intervention Project of Georgia (“TIP”) since March 2005 as a Guardian ad Litem, tutor and mentor for over thirty families. She also participates in the training of new TIP volunteers and is a member of the TIP Volunteer Planning Committee. In 2008, she was awarded the Glenda Hatchett Volunteer of the Year for outstanding service and dedication for the children and families of Fulton County, Georgia.

EDTORA JONES-TREASURER

Edtora T. “Ed” Jones currently practices with the Atlanta office of The Cochran Firm. He represents plaintiffs in medical negligence, serious injury and wrongful death cases. Prior to joining The Cochran Firm, Ed was an associate attorney with the civil litigation defense firm Owen, Gleaton, Egan, Jones & Sweeney, LLP where he represented physicians and medical facilities in medical negligence cases. Ed also formerly served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Myra H. Dixon of the State Court of Fulton County where he managed all aspects of the Court’s Civil Docket and assisted the Court in criminal motions hearings and trials.

Ed earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Morehouse College in 1997 receiving honors in Chemistry. He received his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law in 2002.

Ed is a native of Atlanta and is involved several civic and professional organizations including participation in the Perkinson Elementary School Reading Program which mentors elementary school boys in reading. Ed is also a member of American Association of Justice and Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.

HAROLD E. FRANKLIN - HISTORIAN

Harold E. Franklin, Jr. is a partner with King & Spalding and practices in the firm’s Tort and Environmental Law Practice Group. His national practice focuses primarily on complex and high-stakes product liability litigation. Harold has served as counsel for a number of the country’s largest automotive, pharmaceutical, beverage, and package delivery companies and has been actively involved in handling a multitude of matters throughout the continental United States and abroad.

Harold is a 1990 graduate of Emory University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Spanish. He received his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University School of Law in 1999.

Harold engages in numerous pro bono and community service endeavors. He serves on the national Executive Board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and served as the 2008 National Chair of the Election Protection Task Force for the National Bar Association.

During his tenure as the 2007 President of The Gate City Bar Association, Harold founded the Gate City Justice Robert Benham Law Camp (“Law Camp”), the organization’s intensive institutional outreach program designed to foster and increase diversity in the legal profession by exposing local high school students to the study of the law and career opportunities in the legal profession. He has also served as Chair of the Scholarship Committee of the Gate City Hall of Fame program and as Chair of the Gate City Bar Foundation, the non-profit arm of the organization.

MEMBERS –AT- LARGE

DARRICK MCDUFFIE

Darrick McDuffie is an associate on King & Spalding’s Business Litigation Practice Group, where he specializes in complex commercial litigation. He has represented clients on matters including, among others, class action securities litigation, telecommunications litigation, and commercial lease disputes. Mr. McDuffie has represented numerous pro bono clients. He presently represents low-income clients through the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Saturday Lawyers Program as well as low-income clients facing dispossessory proceedings.

Mr. McDuffie received his B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina (“USC”) in 1997. While at USC, Mr. McDuffie was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, National Dean’s List, and National Golden Key, and he was a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Gamma Beta Phi, community service organizations. In 2003, Mr. McDuffie received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where he served as a research assistant to Charles J. Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and served as the alumni committee chair of the Black Law Students Association (“BLSA”).

Mr. McDuffie is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia (2003) and is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, and the Gate City Bar Association.

ASHA F. JACKSON

Asha Jackson is a partner at the law firm of Carlock, Copeland, and Stair, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Her primary areas of practice are health care and general litigation. As a member of the health care team, Asha represents several medical schools and institutions throughout the state of Georgia as well as individual health care practitioners. As a litigator, Asha has tried and successfully resolved a number of cases and has been instrumental in a number of high profile cases, most notably her representation of a funeral home in class action litigation stemming from a North Georgia crematory operator's failure to cremate numerous bodies and her representation of Ray Lewis, an NFL player involved in a civil suit related to the death of two individuals after the super bowl in Atlanta. Asha is a member of the National Order of Barristers, the American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, and the American Health Lawyers Association.

Asha is very active in her community. She is a founding member of the Atlanta Urban League Young Professionals (AULYP), an auxiliary of the Urban League. Additionally, Asha is a hearing officer for the Bureau of Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire and a board member of the Atlanta Coordination Responsible Authority (ACORA). Asha also serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Georgia. In 2006, Asha was recognized and honored as one of 10 Outstanding Young Atlantans by the "Outstanding Atlanta" Organization, and she is a charter fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

L. CHRIS STEWART

L. Chris Stewart is a Partner in the personal injury department of Morgan & Morgan. Morgan & Morgan is arguably the nations largest Plaintiff’s firm with offices throughout the country. Chris focuses primarily on auto/trucking collision cases, wrongful death, and premises liability. Chris represents hundreds of injured clients, and has received multiple Plaintiffs' jury verdicts and settlements totaling nearly four million dollars for his clients in less than four years.

Chris earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Xavier University (LA) where he also graduated with honors in English. He earned a Masters of Science in Public Health, with a specialty in Environmental Policy, from Tulane University's School of Public Health. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC.

He has been featured in Jet Magazine, Diversity and the Bar Magazine, aol.com, and numerous other publications, and congratulated in the U.S. House of Representatives for their victory. Chris also traveled with famed actor Bill Cosby as a motivational speaker and was featured on ABC's Nightline and Dateline. He was also a finalist for Atlanta’s Power 30 under 30. Chris currently serves on the board for the Villages at Carver YMCA, tutors at Perkson Elementary School, and is a frequent speaker at inner city elementary schools.

CHERYL F. TURNER

Cheryl F. Turner, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is Counsel for The Coca-Cola Company in its Coca-Cola North America division, focusing on promotion and marketing law.

Cheryl graduated from Emory University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and International Studies. In 1999, Cheryl graduated from the Emory University School of Law, where she was a Woodruff Scholar, served as President of the Emory Black Law Students Association, and as an Emory Law School Ambassador.

Cheryl began her legal career as a commercial real estate associate with Troutman Sanders, LLP where she worked on a variety of real estate matters. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Cheryl was a real estate and corporate associate with the firm of Thomas, Kennedy, Sampson and Patterson.

In addition to participating in the Gate City Bar, Cheryl serves on the Executive Committee of the National Bar Association Commercial Law Section and the Black Law Students Advisory Committee at Emory University School of Law.

CHRISTOPHER E. WARD

Christopher E. Ward is a senior staff attorney with the Georgia Power Company. His practice area focuses on eminent domain litigation and real estate law matters that support projects in the land acquisition, transmission construction, land sales, and land management departments of Georgia Power. A native of Atlanta, Chris received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1993. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami School of Law, and became licensed to practice law in 1998.

Chris began his career as a public defender with the Fulton County Public Defender’s Office, and in 2000, he joined the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. In 2002, he was named Chief Senior A.D.A. and Director of the Illegal Firearms Unit. Chris was sworn in as an Associate Judge and volunteered his time in the Juvenile Court of Fulton County from June 2008 and until January 2009.

Chris has been an active member of the Gate City Bar Association since 2004. He’s served on the Hall of Fame selection and scholarship committees and the Foundation Board between 2005 and 2007. Chris’ numerous volunteer activities have included serving on the Board of Directors of the John Harlan Boys and Girls Club; mentoring in the Brother to Brother program; and tutoring at A.D. Williams Elementary School. Chris is president of the Regency Park Homeowner’s Association, a member of Cascade United Methodist Church and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Judge Crystal Gaines presently serves as Judge in the Atlanta Municipal Court. She was appointed to that position in 2001. Prior to her appointment, Judge Gaines served as Chief Public Defender for the City Court of Atlanta. Her resume also includes work with the General Assembly, the Georgia State Employees Union and Georgia Indigent Defense Council. She was apart of the team that developed the Fulton County Conflict Defenders, Inc.

Judge Gaines received a LLM in Litigation in 1994 at Atlanta Law School, Juris Doctorate in 1989 at North Carolina Central University of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1984 at Albany State University. She is a member of the bar in both the State of Georgia and the District of Columbia.

Some of her organizational affiliations, memberships and honors include: Gate City Bar Association Judicial Section-Chair 2009 (Justice Robert Benham Award); Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys ; Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta; Leadership Atlanta (class of 2009); America Friends Service Committee (Executive Committee-Chair 1996-1999); and Fulton County Conflict Defender, Inc. (Board President); National Bar Association (Judicial Chair’s Award).

Judge Gaines was selected to participate with the truth and reconciliation hearings in South Africa as a monitor. She is also a contributing author for the Encyclopedia of African America Education.

EDWINA B. ROBINSON - CHAIR, PARALEGAL SECTION

Edwina Bernita Robinson is a Paralegal at the Cuffie Law Firm, where she handles a variety of personal injury cases, and also assists with the business development and marketing efforts of the firm. Edwina was previously employed as a corporate paralegal at Sutherland, where she assisted in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, and other general corporate matters.

Edwina has been a member of the Gate City Bar Association's Paralegal Section for four years. Edwina chaired the sponsorship, membership and marketing committees. As chair of the membership committee, Edwina helped the organization's membership quadruple in size over the course of fifteen months.

In 2008, Edwina created and organized the 1st Annual Paralegal Awards Luncheon, which was the most successful event the section has held. The Luncheon not only awarded three paralegals in the Metro-Atlanta for their contributions within the legal community, but it also honored the founder of the Paralegal Section, former Gate City President, Clarence R. Johnson, Jr., with an award in his name given to a dynamic Gate City Paralegal Section member.

Edwina is also a Board member of the Georgia Association of Paralegals, and a volunteer with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, the Truancy Intervention Project, Everybody Wins!, and various other community service organizations. She attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She also studied for her Paralegal Certificate at Clayton State University.

THOMAS G. “WOODY” SAMPSON, II - IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Thomas G. Sampson, II, ("Woody"), is a partner with Thomas Kennedy Sampson and Tompkins LLP, Georgia's oldest minority¬ owned law firm. Woody has tried close to 100 cases, and regularly represents Fortune 500 companies, individuals and governmental entities in various types of complex legal matters.

He has fourteen (14) years of experience in medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, consumer warranty, and other general civil litigation matters. Woody has tried cases for the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority ("MARTA"), Ford Motor Company, State Farm Insurance, as well as others.

In addition to his trial experience, Woody has served as General Counsel to the Fulton County Board of Ethics for the past eight (8) years advising the Board on numerous complaints concerning ethical violations of Fulton County elected officials and employees of Fulton County. He has authored all of the requests for advisory opinions for the past eight (8) years from individuals who sought to determine whether their prospective conduct constituted an ethical violation.

Woody is a graduate of Morehouse College and holds a Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Georgia. Woody is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He has formerly served as President, Vice-President and Member-at-Large of the Gate City Bar Association. He has served as Board Chairman of the Southwest Coalition of Concerned Citizens. He is a Board Member of Planned Parenthood of Georgia, Inc. In 2007, Woody was inducted as a Charter Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America. In 2008, he was named to The Power Book as one of the top 50 leaders in the legal profession by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. He was also named one of the 50 Men of Influence by the Atlanta Business League. In 2009, he was chosen as a Georgia Super Lawyer.