George T. "Buck" Lewis of Baker Donelson has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) with a Presidential Citation.
ABA President Bob Carlson presented the citation to Mr. Lewis at the 2019 ABA Pro Bono Publico luncheon on August 10 in San Francisco as part of the ABA's Annual Meeting. ABA Presidential Citations recognize leadership and noteworthy contributions to the public interest and the legal profession.
Mr. Lewis, who just completed three years as chair of the ABA Pro Bono and Public Service Committee, was honored for his work leading Baker Donelson's development and the ABA's launch of the country's first interactive pro bono website, ABAFreeLegalAnswers, which has been licensed as a free service for low-income clients in 41 states. Almost 100,000 legal questions have been posted to the site. Similar software has been licensed to pro bono agencies in Great Britain and Australia.
Mr. Lewis is a past chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission and past president of the Tennessee Bar Association and Memphis Bar Foundation. He is a recipient of the William Reece Smith Jr. Pro Bono Award from the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals and the Justice Janice Holder Award for Access to Justice from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services.