Kilpatrick Stockton attorney and immediate past president of the American
Cancer Society David M. Zacks received the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community
Service for his outstanding community contributions during a presentation at the
State Bar of Georgia’s Jan. 15-16 Midyear Meeting at the Sheraton Hotel at Colony
Square. Wyck A. Knox of Augusta nominated Zacks for the award.
Created in 1998 by the State Bar of Georgia, the award is named for Georgia Supreme
Court Justice Robert Benham, who during his term as chief justice encouraged lawyers
and judges in Georgia to become involved in serving their communities so that
volunteerism remains strong among the members of the Georgia legal profession. The
award recognizes lawyers and judges who have combined a professional career with
outstanding service and dedication to their communities through voluntary
participation in community organizations, government sponsored activities or
humanitarian work.
Benham presented the award to Zacks at the board of governor’s dinner presided over
by State Bar President William D. Barwick of Atlanta. During the presentation, Sally
E. Lockwood, executive director of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism
explained, “For the past 35 years, David Zacks has continuously devoted a major
portion of his time to defeating cancer through the work of the American Cancer
Society, leading to his service as its national chairman in 2002-03. Inspired by
the courage of his Wake Forest friend, Brian Piccolo, and of Mr. Zacks’ own family
members, Mr. Zacks has served the Cancer Society in almost every position open to a
non-medical lay person, including chair of the Georgia Division. As national
chairman, he traveled throughout the United States advocating the Cancer Society’s
mission to reduce the incidence of and mortality from cancer while improving the
quality of life of cancer patients. Active also in the global fight against cancer,
Mr. Zacks serves on the Council of the International Union Against Cancer in Geneva,
Switzerland. Mr. Zacks’ other community involvements include serving as president
of the Legal Clinic for the Homeless in Atlanta, trustee of Leadership Georgia, and
on the Executive Board of University Hospital Health Care Foundation. Thanks to
David Zacks and the work of the American Cancer Society, this dread disease is being
conquered, and millions of lives have been saved.”
A graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, Zacks is a litigator and partner
in the international law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton based in Atlanta.
The State Bar of Georgia, created by order of the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1964,
is a mandatory organization composed of more than 34,000 lawyers licensed to
practice law in Georgia. Its predecessor, the Georgia Bar Association, was a
voluntary group whose existence spanned from 1884 until the bar was unified in 1964.
State Bar headquarters is located in Atlanta and a South Georgia satellite office is
located in Tifton.
