(Atlanta, GA / February 10, 2010) Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC is pleased to announce that Linda A. Klein was nominated as the 2010 Chair of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, during the ABA’s 2010 Midyear Meeting in Orlando, FL, on Feb. 8-9, 2010.
Ms. Klein, managing shareholder for the firm’s Georgia offices and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, will assume her post for a two-year term at the conclusion of the 2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco in August. The chair of the ABA House is the second-highest office in the association.
The ABA’s House of Delegates is the policy-making body of the association and is comprised of 555 members. The House meets twice each year, at ABA Annual and Midyear Meetings, and action taken by the House on specific issues becomes official ABA policy.
Ms. Klein’s practice includes most types of business dispute resolution, including contract law, construction law, fidelity and surety law, employment law, and professional liability.
Ms. Klein currently holds numerous Board of Director positions, and is president of Southface Energy Institute, a leading non-profit supporting sustainable development. She is past president of the Board of Directors’ Network, the mission of which is to prepare and place women on corporate boards. While president, she began an annual program to count the number of women of color in corporate leadership and highlight their achievements. Ms. Klein is a co-founder of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Georgia chapter. She served as chair of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association from 2003 to 2004. She is the immediate past chair of the Committee on Rules and Calendar of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and chair of the Association's Coalition for Justice. She is a past president of the Caucus of State Bars, past chair of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, and past chair of the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia.
Ms. Klein has received many accolades for her accomplishments. She is the recipient of the American Bar Foundation’s 2010 Fellows Outstanding State Chair Award, and she was honored with the Randolph Thrower Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 from the State Bar of Georgia, which recognizes Georgia attorneys for their achievements in promoting diversity in the legal profession. She also was named to the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers 2009. In 2004, the American Bar Association presented her with the prestigious Margaret Brent Achievement Award, which is bestowed upon women who have “achieved professional excellence in their field and have influenced other women to pursue legal careers, opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them, and/or advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession.” In 1998, Georgia Trend Magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful and influential Georgians. Atlanta Magazine named her a Georgia Super Lawyer and one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Georgia annually since 2004. Ms. Klein is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and in Who's Who in America and Chambers.
In June 1997, Ms. Klein became the first and, to date, only woman President of the State Bar of Georgia. During her tenure, Ms. Klein responded to the many personal calls she received from low-income women seeking help for domestic violence problems. She led a multi-pronged strategy to propose, and receive, $2 million of state funding for legal services for victims of domestic violence. That first year, 6,000 families were helped with those funds. Since then, annual appropriations totaling more than $20 million has helped children and women facing every kind of domestic violence situation in every corner of the state and at every level of the judicial system.
Ms. Klein has authored numerous published works, most on construction topics. Her lecture schedule includes presentations in France, Sweden, Canada, and across the United States. She is a member of the American Law Institute and a certified mediator and arbitrator, frequently serving as a neutral as well as a client advocate.