Mercer Law will host a Law Day Celebration on Friday, April 15. The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the first-floor courtroom with a keynote address from Patrise Perkins-Hooker, Fulton County Attorney and Immediate Past President of the State Bar of Georgia. The address will be followed by the final round of the first-year Hugh Lawson Moot Court Competition at 3:45 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. A reception will follow the Lawson Competition.
The Lawson Competition is a long-standing intraschool competition exclusively for first-year students. Judges for the competition include Patrise Perkins-Hooker, presiding, Dwight Davis ('82), Doc Schneider ('81), Professor Jessica Feinberg, and Tyler Bishop, third-year student and the 2014 winner of the competition. The competition helps expose students to moot court practice and procedure before they try out for Mercer's nationally recognized moot court teams in the fall of their 2L year. The student who argues most effectively receives $500 and has their name engraved on the King & Spalding cup.
About Patrise Perkins-Hooker
Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker is the County Attorney for Fulton County, Georgia. In this capacity, she is responsible for all of the civil legal needs of one of the largest counties in Georgia. She supervises a staff of over 30 professionals and provides legal advice to seven commissioners and over 40 departments. Prior to joining Fulton County she served as the vice president and general counsel for the Atlanta BeltLine Inc. for six years.
Perkins-Hooker is a leader in her profession and very actively engaged in the Atlanta community. She has previously served on the Board of Governors and as a member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia. She was the 52nd president of the State Bar Board of Governors and the first person of color to hold this position. She is also a past chair of the State Bar's Real Property Law Section, a past parliamentarian of the Atlanta Planning and Advisory Board, and the founding chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit-Q. She is also a past chair of Hosea Feed the Hungry's Board of Directors.
Perkins-Hooker is an honors graduate of Georgia Tech and received her graduate degrees from Emory University Law and Business Schools. She was admitted to the Bar in 1984. She has received numerous honors for her service to the legal profession and the community, including being inducted into the Gate City Bar Association's Hall of Fame, being presented the Leah Ward Sears Service to the Profession Award by the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, being presented an Honorary degree from the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, and being presented the Eleonoré Raoul Greene Trailblazer Award from Emory University Law School. She has also received the Phoenix Award from the Mayor of Atlanta. This is the highest honor bestowed on citizens in Atlanta for their outstanding contributions.
