Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Thomas Woodall was named Volunteer of the Year by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) at an event on April 2.
Woodall received the award for his efforts in creating TLAP’s Judicial Assistance Group (JAG), which offers intervention training to help judges across the state best assist impaired lawyers that appear in their courtrooms. The 26-member Judicial Assistance Group regularly speaks to bar associations and law schools about the potential challenges of working in the legal profession and also provides confidential assistance to judges who are struggling with personal issues.
“Judge Woodall has been invaluable in raising the awareness about the availability of TLAP and its services for both attorneys and judges,” said Laura Gatrell, executive director of TLAP. “Judge Woodall was the perfect person to receive the Volunteer of Year award.”
This year, TLAP's "Volunteer of the Year" award was officially renamed the "Stephenson Todd Volunteer of the Year" after W. Stephenson Todd, Jr. of Todd and Dossett, P.C., Kingsport, Tenn. Todd was the first TLAP Commission Chair appointed by the Supreme Court in 1999, and served as chair until 2005. He was again appointed to the TLAP Commission in 2009. Todd was a member of the original Tennessee Supreme Court Lawyers Assistance Program Committee appointed by the Supreme Court in 1998 to create a lawyer's assistance program for adoption in Tennessee. He is a pioneer and leader not only for TLAP, but for the lawyer's assistance movement across the entire United States.
