Most lawyers never even see the inside of the U.S. Supreme Court, much less stand in the courtroom and receive recognition from a Supreme Court justice.
However, that is exactly what Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge W. Neil Thomas and attorney Ron Powers did recently on behalf of Chattanooga’s Justices Ray L. Brock Jr. – Robert E. Cooper American Inn of Court.
Thomas and Powers represented the Chattanooga Inn at the Celebration of Excellence, a black-tie event held annually at the Supreme Court of the United States to honor Inn chapters and individuals that have contributed their talent, time, energy and resources to furthering the ideals of the American Inns of Court.
The local Inn was recognized by Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. for having achieved a platinum designation, the highest of the four levels of program excellence.
The platinum designation is awarded only to those Inns that have distinguished themselves as models of American Inn of Court best practices. The award places the local Inn in the top 25 percent of the nearly 400 Inns located throughout the United States.
The purpose of an Inn of Court is to improve the skills, professionalism, ethics and civility of the bench and bar. Membership is by invitation only. The Chattanooga chapter is composed of over 100 local judges and lawyers.
“Standing in the well of the courtroom of the highest court in this country to accept this award on behalf of my Chattanooga colleagues was one of those peak experiences that you often hear people relating in hushed tones of awe and humility,” said Thomas, the founding member of the local Inn.
“This award has such special meaning to me because it signifies in a real and concrete way that the local Inn is accomplishing the mission it was founded to achieve: increasing professionalism and civility among Chattanooga’s lawyers and judges. I was honored to accept it on behalf of our members.
In addition to the formal awards ceremony and dinner on Nov. 5, the local Inn also was recognized in the November issue of the American Inns of Court’s monthly magazine, The Bencher, in the Celebration of Excellence program, and on the American Inns of Court website. In addition, the Inn’s individual website now features the distinctive 2016 platinum badge.
Information: Sheri Fox at (423) 402-4756 or sfox@laet.org.
Source: Chattanooga’s Inn