News Post

Montgomery, Alabama, October 16, 2012 – Samuel N. Crosby, Daphne (Stone Granade & Crosby PC) will receive the 2012 Harold Albritton Pro Bono Leadership Award presented by the state Bar.

The award recognizes an individual for leadership in making free civil legal services available to the poor and disadvantaged.

State Bar President Phillip W. McCallum, Birmingham (McCallum Methvin & Terrell PC) said, “Lawyers are making a positive difference every day all across our state. The difference between good and great lawyers is that great ones make a difference in society and that’s why we are recognizing Sam. He exemplifies excellence and dedication to providing legal services to the many people who are in need but are lacking access. His creativity, energy and innovative approaches set an example for Alabama’s legal profession.”

Crosby is a past president of the state Bar (2007-2008) whose term was noted for its theme: “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.” He implemented the Wills for Heroes program in Alabama which provides free wills to first responders and was instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars by petitioning the Alabama Supreme Court to amend a rule to mandate that all lawyers must pool eligible client funds in an interest-bearing account with the interest used to provide pro bono representation.

He received his undergraduate degree with academic distinction from the University of Virginia (1973) and earned his law degree from the University of Alabama (1978) where he was a member of the Bench and Bar Honor Society, Honor Court, and the Moot Court Board. He currently serves as a trustee of the University of Alabama Law School Foundation and serves on the Law School Executive Committee.

An active member of Alabama’s legal profession, he has served on the state Bar’s executive council, long range planning task force and as a member of the editorial board of the Alabama Lawyer magazine.

He is a past president of the Baldwin County Bar Association. In 2005, he was one of five practicing attorneys in the state appointed to serve as a member-at-large of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. In 2008 he became the first recipient of the Chief Justice’s Outstanding Leadership Award. He is a Life Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation, a charitable, tax-exempt organization affiliated with the state bar that provides ways for lawyers to better the world around them. Membership in the fellows is limited to one percent of all state Bar members.

In the community, he has served as a local municipal judge and has taught business law as an adjunct professor at the University of South Alabama. He has been active in various civic organizations including Ecumenical Ministries, Inc., an organization that aids the poor in Baldwin County, Boy Scouts of America, Waterfront Rescue Ministry and the American Red Cross. He has served as an arbitrator and mediator and maintains membership in the Alabama Academy of Attorney Mediators. He is one of 20 Alabama mediators selected as a charter member of the Alabama chapter of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals.

Award nominations are reviewed by the Pro Bono and Public Service Committee which recommends a recipient to the Bar’s governing and decision-making body, the Board of Bar Commissioners. Although nominations are accepted annually, it is not expected the award will be presented each year. The first recipient of the award was its namesake, federal Judge
W. Harold Albritton, III.

The 17,000-member Alabama State Bar is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility, competence and satisfaction of its members, improving the administration of justice and increasing public understanding and respect for the law.