Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog
This past week I was fortunate to attend the 2026 Annual Meeting of the International Society of Barristers (ISOB) in Mauna Lani, Hawaii. I am a Fellow in this amazing trial lawyer organization, and enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie these meetings engender. Each day begins with a formal program of speakers from all disciplines, but rarely from the actual practice of law. These speakers are there to enrich your mind and expand your capacity for thought. They make you get out of your daily rut of practicing law and put yourself into a new world that is exciting, thought-provoking and challenging. You grow as a human being. Enrichment is the goal. This was also my last meeting serving on the Board of Governors. I have been on the ISOB Board for 6 years and now that rewarding role is now finished.
Of the numerous speakers, two were my favorites. The first was Valentino Dixon, an artist who was wrongfully convicted of murder and who served 27 years in prison in Attica, N.Y. Mr. Dixon has an amazing story. He “drew himself to freedom” after spending 27 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He survived the notorious Attica Prison through his gifted hands and a set of colored pencils his uncle gave him. One day his warden asked him to draw his favorite golf hole, No. 13 at Augusta National. Then, his next-door cellmate gave him two old copies of Golf Digest magazine and challenged him to draw the golf holes in those magazines. Drawing up to 10 hours a day he created awe-inspiring masterpieces that evoke powerful emotions giving strength and inspiration to anyone facing a difficult time. Along the way, he wrote 1,000’s of letters asking for help to exonerate him. Finally, Max Adler, a writer with Gold Digest, took action and helped begin an investigation that led to Mr. Dixon’s exoneration and freedom from prison. His is a truly remarkable story and I urge you to read about it. There have also been documentaries made about Mr. Dixon’s life. Mr. Dixon said that if his story could be boiled down into one phrase it would be “Don’t ever give up.”
My second favorite speaker was Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of Berkeley Law and the Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law. He often writes for news organizations and the American Bar Association. He is the author of 22 books and the most knowledgeable person about the U.S. Supreme Court that I know. This was the second time I had heard Dean Chemerinsky speak to the Barristers. Last time he predicted five things from the U.S. Supreme Court and all five of them came true. So I was very eager to hear his predictions this time. Dean Chemerinsky spoke about his deep concern about the Rule of Law in America and how close our Democracy is to collapse. He urged us to speak out and educate others about what is happening to our Democracy and to take action to prevent those who do not value it from destroying it. He also urged us to continue to protect the Judiciary from physical threats of harm and to help maintain its independence.
Both of these gentlemen were extremely inspirational, in different ways. I came back to my office today in Atlanta reenergized and reinvigorated to get to work righting wrongs for my clients and getting them on the path of Justice. “Don’t ever give up.
Robin Frazer Clark is a trial lawyer who pursues justice for those who have personal injury claims as a result of being injured in motor vehicle wrecks, trucking wrecks, defective products, defective maintenance of roads, premises safety, medical malpractice and other incidents caused by the negligence of others. Ms. Clark was the 50th President of the State Bar of Georgia, a Past President of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, a Past President of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta and has practiced law in Georgia for 38 years. She is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Ms. Clark is listed as one of the Top 50 Women Trial Lawyers in Georgia and is a Georgia Super Lawyer. Ms. Clark is the co-host of the podcast “See You In Court.”
Robin Frazer Clark ~ Dedicated to the Constitution’s Promise of Justice for All.
