ATLANTA, GA- Attorney General Sam Olens has announced that the Georgia legal community raised the equivalent of 1,230,260 pounds of food ($298,189 + 37,501 pounds of food, with each dollar representing four pounds of food) during the 2016 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy. This year’s total helped achieve the goal of five million pounds of food in five years. This is the fifth annual food drive in which lawyers and staff compete outside the courtroom for two weeks to raise food and funds for Georgia’s eight regional food banks. The competition took place April 18–29, 2016. Since its inception in 2012, the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy has collectively raised the equivalent of 5,008,110 pounds of food.

A total of 289 law firms and legal organizations representing more than 18,000 employees competed for the grand prize, the Attorney General’s Cup. Sole proprietor Joe Habachy of Joe S. Habachy, PC in Atlanta won the honor for the third consecutive year -- raising the equivalent of 37,450 pounds of food, the most per capita statewide.

Georgia’s five law schools held their own competition. Mercer University School of Law won the title this year. They raised the equivalent of 34.25 pounds per person.

“Congratulations to the Attorney General’s Cup winner Joe Habachy, the law school winner Mercer, and all of the 2016 Georgia Legal Frenzy winners,” said Olens. “The food and funds raised through the competition will help Georgia’s food banks meet the increased demand they experience over the summer months when children are out of school. I could not be prouder of Georgia’s legal community for their generosity toward the less fortunate in our state. The true winners of this competition are the children who will receive healthy, balanced meals this summer.”

“Attorney General Olens challenged the legal community to raise more than one million pounds of food during this year's Legal Food Frenzy to reach our five year goal of five million pounds, and the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia (YLD) answered that challenge with leadership and enthusiasm,” said Danah Craft, Georgia Food Bank Association executive director. “On behalf of Georgia Food Bank Association's member food banks, I want to express our gratitude to the YLD, Attorney General Olens and all the firms and law schools that participated. The food and funds raised during this competition will provide the equivalent of 1,000,000 meals over the summer months.”

The Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, a partnership between the Office of the Attorney General, the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division and the Georgia Food Bank Association, is specifically timed to coincide with Law Day and the end of the school year to help the food banks prepare for the summer. During the summer months, the demand for food increases because children who depend on free or reduced school lunches are at home. More than 60% of Georgia’s public school students are eligible for either a free or reduced lunch each day.

Georgia’s eight regional food banks serve 156,500 unique clients in Georgia on a weekly basis. All of the food and funds collected during the Legal Food Frenzy have been donated directly to the regional food bank that serves each competitor’s community.

Olens expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the 2016 competition. “I would like to thank State Bar of Georgia president Robert Kauffman; YLD president Jack Long; YLD Legal Food Frenzy Committee chairs Katie Dod, Jonathan Poole and Katie Willett; 2016 Legal Food Frenzy co-chairs Lisa Robinson, Justin Oliverio, Justin Purvis, and Daniel Burroughs; Georgia Food Bank Association executive director Danah Craft; and the city representatives throughout the state whose hard work and dedication made this year’s Legal Food Frenzy a success. Last, but not least, I appreciate the generosity of all of the Georgia lawyers and legal staff who contributed to this important effort.”

Winners of the 2016 Legal Food Frenzy:

Attorney General’s Cup

Joe S. Habachy, PC 37,450 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Attorney General’s Cup – Law School Division

Mercer University School of Law 34.25 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Sole Proprietor (1-2 employees)

Attorney Justin Oliverio, LLC 12,200 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank 12,200 total pounds

Small Firm (3-20 employees)

Jenkins & Robert LLC 2,215 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Strickland Brockington Lewis LLP 14,625 Total Pounds

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Medium Firm (21-100 employees)

Coleman Talley LLP 2,362 pounds per person

Second Harvest of South Georgia 125,176 total pounds

This is the 5th year in a row that this firm has held onto this division win.

Large Firm (101+)

Moore Ingram Johnson & Steel, LLP 272 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank

King & Spalding 61,653 total pounds

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Legal Organization

Georgia Institute of Technology Office of Legal Affairs 2,146 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Office of Attorney General 37,541 total pounds

Atlanta Community Food Bank

Corporate Legal Organization

Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC 3,590 pounds per person

Atlanta Community Food Bank 28,724 total pounds

Highlights from this year’s competition:

Sole Proprietors:
George W Brinson, P.C. (Georgia Mountain Food Bank): 3rd statewide for Pounds Per Person and 2nd in the Sole Proprietor Pounds Per Person category with 5,125 PPP
Law Offices of Veronica Brinson (Middle Georgia Community Food Bank): 5th statewide for Pounds Per Person and 3rd in the Sole Proprietor Pounds Per Person category with 3,272 PPP
Small Firms:
Hotard & Hice, LLC (Food Bank of Northeast Georgia): Very close 2nd in both Small Firm Pounds Per Person and Total Pounds categories with 2,195 PPP and 13,171 Total Pounds
Medium Firms:
Hull Barrett, PC (Golden Harvest Food Bank): 2nd statewide for Total Pounds with 70,416 Total Pounds. 2nd in the Medium Firms Pounds Per Person category with 1,381 PPP
Large Firms:
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP (Atlanta Community Food Bank): 4th statewide for Total Pounds with 41,345 pounds
Legal Organization:
Augusta Judicial Circuit Judges (Golden Harvest Food Bank): 2nd in the in the Legal Organization Pounds Per Person category with 557.5 PPP and 3rd in the Legal Organizations Total Pounds category with 27,875 Total Pounds
Tifton Bar Association (Second Harvest of South Georgia): 3rd in the Legal Organization Pounds Per Person with 502 PPP and 4th in the Legal Organizations Total Pounds category with 20,079 Total Pounds
Corporate Legal Organization:
Soto Assisted Living Group (Golden Harvest Food Bank): 7th statewide for Pounds Per Person and 2nd in the Corporate Legal Organization Pounds Per Person category with 2,776 PPP
McKesson Corp (Atlanta Community Food Bank): 2nd in the Corporate Legal Organization Total Pounds category with 25,125 Total Pounds

Other Regional Highlights

In Columbus and Southwestern Georgia (Feeding the Valley):
Waldrep Mullin & Callahan LLC: Raised the most Pounds Per Person in Feeding the Valley Food Bank’s region with 337.5 PPP
Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office: Raised the most Total Pounds in Feeding the Valley Food Bank’s region with 8,165 Total Pounds
In Northwestern Georgia (Chattanooga Area Food Bank):
Cook & Connelly, LLC: Raised the most Pounds Per Person and Total Pounds in Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s region with 507 PPP and 4059 Total Pounds
In Coastal Georgia (America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia):
Manly Jones LLP: Raised the most Pounds Per Person in America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia’s region with 458 PPP
Hunter Maclean: Raised the most Total Pounds in America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia’s region with 9663 Total Pounds

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