ATLANTA - Jacqueline Bunn, Esq., has received the State Bar of Georgia’s Thomas R. Burnside, Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award. The award was presented today at the Bar’s Board of Governors at the annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

The award is given to honor lifetime commitment to the legal profession and the justice system in Georgia.

“Receiving this kind of recognition from the Bar is a tremendous honor. I have been blessed to serve and lead in various voluntary bar organizations over my thirty plus years in the law. I have also been honored to serve in state government because to whom much is given, much is required,” said Bunn.

Bunn was nominated by the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She has been a member 16 years and previously served as President in 2013. Bunn was appointed to the Parole Board in 2016 and re-appointed to a full seven year term in December of 2016. She is one of five members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles who determine which eligible offenders receive parole in Georgia.

Recipients of the Thomas R. Burnside, Jr. Excellence in Bar Leadership Award must work with the nominating organization 15 years or more, must serve in the organization’s leadership, and must actively participate and support the organization’s programs and public service activities. Additionally, recipients must promote the general reputation of the legal profession in the state and provide legal services to the community served by the nominating organization.

Ms. Bunn is licensed to practice law in all state and federal courts in Georgia and New Jersey. She is a member of the Georgia Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Association. She handled hundreds of cases involving the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles in state and federal courts, from the trial level through the appellate process to the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Bunn began her career as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Section for the Georgia Department of Law. In 2006, she served as deputy director in the legal services unit of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. She was appointed to serve as the executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 2013.

Ms. Bunn is a member of the Henry Toll Fellowship Class of 2016 and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Promoting Inclusion in the Profession committee. She is also a member of the Georgia Bar Journal editorial board. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and a law degree from the University of Georgia.

For a complete bio: https://pap.georgia.gov/jacqueline-bunn-esq.

For more information please contact Steve Hayes, Communications Director for the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, at 404-657-9450 or [email protected] and visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

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