Legal History
FIRST BLACK PRESIDENTS OF STATE BAR ASSOCIATIONS GEORGIA TEXAS
Lisa M. Tatum, Esq., President, The State Bar of Texas (2013-14) Lisa M. Tatum currently serves as President of the State Bar of Texas, which is made up of nearly 90,000 active members. She is the founder of LM Tatum, PLLC, which focuses primarily in the areas of business and corporate, education, employment, public finance, simple estate/contingency planning and related family law issues. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College and her Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Patrise M. PerkinsHooker, Esq., President-Elect, State Bar of Georgia (2014-15) Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker serves as the Vice President and General Counsel of Atlanta BeltLine Inc. She was recently selected as President-Elect of the 45,000-member State Bar of Georgia. Attorney Perkins-Hooker is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Emory University School of Law and the Emory University Goizueta Business School.
ILLINOIS Eugene Pettis, Esq., President, The Florida Bar (2013-14) Eugene K. Pettis is a Co-Founder of Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm. His practice focuses on the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury, commercial litigation, professional liability and employment law. Attorney Pettis attended the University of Florida, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and graduated from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. He was recently sworn in as the new President of The Florida Bar, which governs nearly 100,000 attorneys.
Vincent F. Cornelius was recently elected Third Vice President of the Illinois State Bar Association, which is made up of 32,000 lawyers. In this capacity, he serves one year in each of three vice presidential offices and then becomes president in 2016. He is the Principal of The Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius where he concentrates in civil and criminal litigation. Attorney Cornelius received his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Francis and his law degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law. Annual 2013 Edition
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Vincent F. Cornelius, Esq., Third Vice President, Illinois State Bar Association (2016-17)
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