Awards & Recognitions

Partners Ed Garland, Don Samuel, and Amanda Clark Palmer are fellows in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers (ABCL). This prestigious organization was founded in June 1978 as an exclusive national, legal, honorary society for outstanding criminal trial lawyers, with admission to fellowship by invitation only. To possess sufficient qualification for admission to fellowship, members must have successful major felony trial experience and exceptional recommendations from distinguished jurists and current Fellows attesting to each of the candidate’s high ethics as well as their litigation skills in the area of criminal defense. The primary concern of the ABCL is the preservation and the free exercise of fundamental freedoms for all those accused of criminal conduct. Over the years, ABCL Fellows have become regularly involved in high profile criminal cases throughout the country, where the principles of the Organization and the collective experience of the Fellows have made a worthwhile contribution. 

In 2022, Amanda Clark Palmer was selected to serve on the Board of Director's for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's (NACDL) as an Affiliate Representative. The Board of Directors oversees the business and affairs of the organization and sets organization policy. It includes 35 elected directors, four Affiliate Representatives, the officers of the association, and an appointed parliamentarian. The Board meets several times a year to conduct the business of the organization.

Partner Amanda Clark Palmer has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors since 2019. In 2023, she was re-elected by her peers to begin her third consecutive term on the Board. The Board of Governors is the governing body for the State Bar of Georgia. The Board approves member dues, the State Bar's budget, proposed changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and hosts four meetings a year. Members of the Board of Governors are the voice of the members in the circuit they represent. Each member must run for re-election every two years.

For the cover story of Attorney(s) at Law Magazine (Volume 12 Issue 2), partner Amanda R. Clark Palmer was interviewed about her background and experience that led her to the success she's had thus far in her career.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/e8...

Don Samuel’s long career in criminal defense was launched with a phone call at 11 o’clock one evening in the fall of 1982. It was his managing partner, Ed Garland. Click here to read more.

In the 2006 edition of Georgia Trend’s Legal Elite Ed Garland was featured on the cover and Don Samuel was profiled. Click here to read the 2006 feature.

Ed Garland was featured in the Summer 2007 edition of Southern Seasons Magazine. In the article, titled “Legendary Lawyer”, Ed explained that; “When you defend an accused that the community condemns, your skin has to be thick enough not to care what the public thinks of you. The criminal defense lawyer is liberty’s last champion.” Click here to read the article on Ed.

Ed Garland was featured on the cover of the 2012 edition of Georgia “SuperLawyers.”

Ed was also profiled in an article entitled “The Master Storyteller”, in which he was quoted as saying; “It is so important that the law be applied to protect and benefit the citizen…Protect the rights of the most condemned. If you do that, you will protect the rights of the innocent.” Ed Garland (Top 10) and Don Samuel (Top 100) have been listed in “SuperLawyers” every year since 2004.

International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF) is a network of highly credentialed single-discipline boutique law firms, across the United States and Canada. The INBLF brings together leading boutique firms across a full range of legal specialties in major commercial centers throughout the United States and Canada. The INBLF is not an organization a lawyer or law firm can join by paying a fee. The INBLF carefully reviews the qualifications each potential member and invites only those who represent the highest level of knowledge, experience, and reputation to join. Each member carries credentials comparable or superior to what can be found at the highest-ranking full-service firms, without the insulating layers of intermediate attorneys between the client and the lawyer, and without the concomitant exorbitant billing rates.

The International Academy of Trial Lawyers is a group of elite trial lawyers representing both sides of the Bar: prosecutors and defense lawyers in criminal cases, and plaintiffs’ and defense counsel in civil litigation. While the majority of the Fellows come from the U.S., the Academy includes lawyers from more than 30 countries. Fellowship is by invitation only, and trial lawyers are invited to become Fellows only after an extremely careful vetting process. As to U.S. Fellows, the Academy’s bylaws limit Fellowship to 500 active trial lawyers under the age of 70. The Academy’s purposes are to promote reforms in the law, facilitate the Administration of Justice, promote the Rule of Law internationally, and elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession. Ed Garland is a member.

Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C. included in the 2011-2012 edition of Best Law Firms. Best Law Firms rankings, by U.S. News & Best Lawyers, are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. An unprecedented amount of data was collected in the project’s second year, and this combined data resulted in the 2011-2012 Best Law Firms rankings. To be eligible for a ranking, a law firm must have at least one lawyer who is included in Best Lawyers as part of the annual peer review assessment.

The American College of Trial Lawyers is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada and is widely considered to be the premier professional trial organization in America. Fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Membership can never be more than 1% of the total lawyer population of any state or province. Qualified lawyers are called to Fellowship in the College from all branches of trial practice. They are selected from among advocates who represent plaintiffs or defendants in civil proceedings of all types, as well as prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the profession. Ed Garland and Don Samuel are members of the American College of Trial Lawyers.