Community

It’s not enough to represent people who have been injured. We want to help prevent

Georgia Legal Food Frenzy
In 2020, Johnson & Ward won the “Best New Team” and “Best Small Firm” honors in the 9th annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Competition, designed to helpraise awareness for hunger throughout the state of Georgia, surpassed fundraising goals to generate an astonishing $852,090 to fight hunger. The annual drive is held in unison by the state’s Office of the Attorney General, the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Food Bank Association. The competition was organized by the Attorney General of Georgia, first in 2012 when Johnson & Ward senior counsel Ken Shigley was State Bar president, and included 174 legal teams in Atlanta alone. Metro Atlanta participants aided the Atlanta Community Food Bank in raising $659,740 or enough food for 2,638,960 meals across their 29 county service area for food insecure families.

Civil Lawyers Against World Sex Slavery

We are pleased to support this organization that uses civil legal remedies as a powerful tool for survivors of sex trafficking seeking redress from their traffickers. The targets include not only handlers, but the institutions that enable sex trafficking, including those who pay for sex and the venues which facilitate it. The problem is that while survivors may have access to victim compensation funds or restitution, often the amount authorized under these types of statutes is not enough to compensate the survivor for all the harm suffered. Depending on state law, survivors may be able to seek: compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. Additionally, some statutes allow courts to award treble damages in aggravated cases.

Drinking and Driving

A leading cause of death for 16 through 21 year olds in the United States is alcohol related traffic accidents. We want to help teens learn to make wise choices about alcohol.

A survey funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports:

• 62% of youth report that they have been intoxicated
• 23% of youth have experienced episodic heavy drinking
• 26% of youth drank before age 13
• 40% of youth drink alcohol

Other youth research groups also report these frightening statistics:

• 1 out of every 5 persons will be involved in an alcohol-related automobile accident
• A person dies in an alcohol-related collision every 22 minutes
• More than 50% of the nation’s junior and senior high school students drink alcoholic beverages

MADD Georgia

We are pleased to be the corporate sponsor of the MADD Georgia web site. The mission of MADD Georgia is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.

As Post President of the State Bar of Georgia, Ken Shigley has been involved in supporting the following programs:

• Georgia Legal Services Program
• Pro Bono Project
• Special Commission on Criminal Justice Reform
• Law Related Education Program
• BASICS
• Georgia High School Mock Trial Program
• Military Legal Assistance Program

Community Organizations

Please join us in supporting many of the worthy community organizations in the metro Atlanta area. A few of these include:

• Habitat for Humanity
• Atlanta Community Food Bank
• Hands On Atlanta
• Atlanta Union Mission
• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
• YMCA
• Red Cross
• Boy Scouts
• Girl Scouts
• Furniture Bank Atlanta
• Shepherd Center (Spinal Cord & Brain Injuries)
• Care
• American Cancer Society
• MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
• North Georgia Community Foundation

Please let us know of others we should include.

On May 22, 2018, former State Bar of Georgia president Ken Shigley will be a candidate for election to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The only other candidate is Ken Hodges, a former Dougherty County District Attorney. Ken Hodges was the Democratic Party nominee for Attorney General in 2010.