Joe Habachy. (Courtesy photo)

The economic hardships created by the coronavirus pandemic prompted a record-breaking effort by Georgia's legal community to raise funds for the state's food banks.

This year's Legal Food Frenzy, held over two weeks in April and May, raised a total of $852,090, which food banks can turn into over 3,331,062 meals for hungry families, according to Frenzy organizers.

"At the beginning of quarantine, food banks were seeing anywhere from 30 to 40 percent increases in demand and many of their events were running out of food with families still in line," said Attorney General Chris Carr. "We challenged the state's legal community to step up and help those in need, and they truly went above and beyond."

Carr's office co-sponsored the ninth annual event with the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Food Banks Association.

A total of 222 law firms and legal organizations, representing more than 17,138 members of the legal community, competed for the two grand prizes: the Attorney General's Cup awarded to the team with the most points per person (based on four points per $1 donated, plus bonus opportunities) and the Bar President's Award, given to the team with the most overall points.

The event ended with teams having raised $697,000 online, but another $155,000 was donated by check, automatic payments and firm matching funds. The 3.3 million meals nearly doubled last year's record total of over 1.7 million meals.

(Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM)

Habachy Law of Atlanta won the Attorney General's Cup for the third consecutive year, earning 86,682 points per person.

The Bar President's award winner was Greenberg Traurig of Atlanta, earning 212,914 total points, the most in the competition's history.

The other winners were:

• Large Firm (101+ employees): King & Spalding, 95,771 total points; Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs, 451 points per person.
• Medium Firm (21-100 employees): Coleman Talley, 201,600 total points and 3,200 points per person.
• Small Firm (3-20 employees): Johnson & Ward, 44,750 total points; Jenkins & Roberts, 11,400 points per person.
• Sole Proprietor (1-2 employees): Deborah H. Harris, 40,199 total points and points per person.
• Corporate, In-House Counsel: Serta Simmons Bedding, 74,198 total points and 7,420 points per person.
• Judicial: Supreme Court of Georgia and Georgia Court of Appeals, 40,199 total points; Augusta Judges, 1,378 points per person.
• Legal Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology Office of the General Counsel, 83,488 total points and 2,319 points per person;
• Law School: University of Georgia School of Law, 45,011 total points.

Regional Winners

• America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia: Bouhan Falligant (total points); Edenfield Trial Law (per capita).
• Atlanta Community Food Bank: Alston & Bird (total points); Page Perry (per capita).
• Chattanooga Area Food Bank: The Cowan Law Firm (total points and per capita); runner-up Law Office of Samuel Gowin (both categories).
• Feeding the Valley Food Bank: Aflac (total points); Donald R. Cleveland, Attorney (per capita);
• Food Bank of Northeast Georgia: Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley (total points); Silver & Archibald (per capita).
• Georgia Mountain Food Bank: Whelchel, Dunlap, Jarrard & Walker (total points); R.K. Adams Law (per capita.)
• Golden Harvest Food Bank: Durham Law Firm (total points and per capita); runners-up Fulcher Hagler (total points), Law Offices of Nathan M. Jolles (per capita).
• Middle Georgia Community Food Bank: The Law Offices of Connie L. Williford (total points and per capita); runners-up Middle Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (total points), Noland Law Firm (per capita).
• Second Harvest Food Bank: Tifton Bar Association (total points and per capita).