Gate City Bar Association

02/24/2026

This Black History Month, we honor a trailblazer. Join us Thursday at 6PM at the State Bar as we celebrate the legacy of Judge Horace T. Ward.

02/04/2026

An inspiring start to the year at our January 27 Gate City Bar Association Installation.

President, Hon. Pierce Hand Seitz, and the GCBA Executive Board were sworn in, along with Judicial Section Chair, Hon. Coy J. Johnson Jr., and our Judicial Section officers, all taking their oath to serve Gate City and our legal community.

Surrounded by past presidents, members of the judiciary, government officials, and supporters of Gate City, the evening was a powerful reminder of our legacy and our future.

President Seitz announced this year's theme: "Rooted in our History. United in our Destiny."

Here's to a year of impact, service, and excellence.

01/19/2026

08/30/2025

Thank you to the seasoned attorneys and judges who shared your time and wisdom with our young lawyers and law students at our 5th Annual YLD Speed Networking event. We are especially thankful to BCLP for sponsoring and hosting us, and to our dedicated board members, Judge Pierce Hand Seitz and Racquel McGee, for co-chairing and ensuring the event's success. Together, we continue to strengthen the pipeline of future legal leaders.

Our amazing attorneys and judges were:
Judge Eleanor Ross, US District Judge | NDGa
Judge Brian K. Ross, State Court of DeKalb County
Christopher Twyman, President of the State Bar of Georgia
Jason Esteves, Georgia State Senate & Business Owner
Jamala S. McFadden, Founding and Managing Partner at The Employment Law Solution
R. Gary Spencer, Senior Counsel - NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
Mawuli Davis, Civil Rights Attorney - Founding Partner at Davis Bozeman
Natasha Perdew Silas, Executive Director - Federal Defender Program
Angelia Duncan, Managing Partner - BCLP Charlotte
Kevin Coleman (JD/MBA), Senior Counsel - Genuine Parts Company

03/13/2024

In celebration of Women's History Month, Gate City honors Past President and Hall of Fame Recipient (1999) The Honorable Romae Turner Powell (1926-1990).

A native Atlantan, Judge Powell's legal interests began in the 8th grade while growing up in the Jim Crow south. She recognized that the law could empower and promote justice for the disadvantaged. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, then from Spelman College in 1947. She earned her law degree from Howard University Law School in 1950 and opened a law firm on Auburn Avenue where she began representing her community.

Judge Powell also assisted the NAACP in desegregation cases. In 1954, she married the president of the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP, Dr. C. Clayton Powell. The couple had two children, C. Clayton Powell, Jr., and Dr. Rametta Powell. She is quoted to say that as a successful working mother, “you do not have time for frivolities. You have to make every minute of the day count.”

In 1968, Fulton County Juvenile Judge John S. Langford Jr. appointed Judge Powell as a full-time judicial referee for Juvenile Court, the first African American in that position. Five years later, Judge Powell became the first African American Judge to be appointed in Georgia. Appointed one year after restrooms were desegrated in the Fulton County courthouse, she faced disrespect and resistance to her new position. Undaunted, she exceled both on and off the bench. Notably, she served as president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges of Georgia.

As a judicial trailblazer and co-founder of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), Judge Harris inspired countless judges and attorneys throughout Georgia and the United States. She was an active member and officer of the Georgia Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, National Bar Association, Gate City Bar Association, GABWA, the Women's Judge's Association, the American Judge's Association, and the State Bar of Georgia.

Judge Powell's legacy continues as the Fulton Juvenile Court is named the Romae T. Powell Juvenile Justice Center. The Atlanta Bar Association annually presents The Honorable Romae Turner Powell Judicial Service Award to a judge who, like her, significantly contributes to the judicial system.

Some information taken from excerpt written by The Honorable Renata D. Turner

02/29/2024

Join us in welcoming the 2024 Gate City Bar Association Judicial Section!!