On behalf of the State Bar of Georgia, I am writing to extend condolences to the family, colleagues and many friends of U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Hugh Lawson Jr. of Hawkinsville on his passing at the age of 82.

A Georgia Bar member since 1965, Judge Lawson began his legal career in his father’s law office in Hawkinsville and was appointed as one of the first two public defenders in the Oconee Judicial Circuit. In 1979, he was appointed as a Superior Court judge for the Oconee Circuit, serving for nearly 17 years, including a stint as president of the statewide Council of Superior Court Judges.