The Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute Inc. (SBLI) and Judge Homer Drake have pledged a gift to establish the SBLI/W. Homer Drake, Jr. Endowed Chair in Bankruptcy Law at Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.
The establishment of the endowed chair, formally announced Feb. 22 at a recognition dinner in Atlanta, honors Mercer alumnus, Trustee and United States Bankruptcy Judge Walter Homer Drake Jr., A.B. ’54, LL.B. ’56, of Newnan.
“We are thrilled that the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute has chosen to establish the SBLI/Homer Drake Endowed Chair at Mercer,” said Law School Dean Daisy Floyd. “Judge Drake has been for many years a national force in the area of bankruptcy law, and the endowed chair in his honor will greatly supplement our teaching resources in this increasingly important area of the law.”
A United States bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Georgia, Judge Drake served as chief judge from 1968 to 1976. He is a former partner in the Atlanta law firm of Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers. He is a founder of, and adviser to, the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, a former member of the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System, a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and is a past president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.
A loyal alumnus, Judge Drake is a past president of the Mercer Law School alumni association and past chairman of the Law School Board of Visitors. He currently serves on the Mercer Board of Trustees. The University honored him in 2002 with the Monroe F. Swilley Award for Christian Statesmanship and in 2003 honored him with the Mercer Law School Outstanding Alumnus Award.
He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Emory University School of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law. The author of two books and numerous articles, he was recipient of the first David W. Pollard Achievement Award presented in 1994 by the Atlanta Bar Association for contributions to bankruptcy law and practice.
Professor Michael Sabbath, a Law School faculty member of more than 28 years who has held the SBLI/Homer Drake Endowed Professorship, will be the holder of the endowed chair. Sabbath earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and holds the J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Emory University and Columbia University, respectively.
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