
Frank B. Strickland
Partner Atlanta, Georgia
Frank Strickland is a general practice lawyer. He serves as a court-appointed special master and receiver in commercial litigation matters and is a certified mediator registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. Mr. Strickland’s practice also includes assisting clients with interests in legislative and public policy matters.
President George W. Bush nominated Mr. Strickland to the eleven-member bipartisan Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in Washington, DC. After Senate confirmation, he was elected Chairman of the Board of LSC and served in that position from April 2003 until April 2010. Mr. Strickland continues to serve on two LSC board committees. LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid in the country. LSC promotes equal access to justice by funding high-quality civil legal assistance for low-income Americans. LSC currently funds 130 local legal aid programs in every congressional district and five U.S. territories. With more than 800 offices nationwide, these organizations serve thousands of families, veterans, seniors, and individuals in every congressional district.
By appointment of Governors Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, from 2003 to 2016 Mr. Strickland served on the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), which reviews candidates for judicial appointments throughout the State of Georgia.
As co-counsel with his late law partner, Anne Ware Lewis, in the landmark case of Larios v. Cox, 300 F. Supp 1320 (N.D. Ga. 2004), aff’d 542 U.S. 947 (2004), Frank represented 29 individual plaintiffs who challenged Georgia’s 2000 cycle congressional and legislative plans as violating the “one person, one vote” requirement under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. After trial, the three-judge federal district court ruled in favor of Frank’s clients and invited the General Assembly to draw new legislative maps that complied with the Constitution. After the General Assembly failed to do so, the district court oversaw a process of a Special Master drawing new politically neutral maps. The court-drawn maps were first utilized in the 2004 elections, which resulted in a gain of twenty Republican seats in the state House of Representatives and control of that chamber for the first time since 1870. In January 2005, the General Assembly elected its first Republican Speaker of the House since Reconstruction as a direct result of the Larios decision.
Mr. Strickland served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard and is a retired Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.
Affiliations
- State Bar of Georgia, Board of Governors, 1986-2004; Executive Committee, 2017-2019
- Atlanta Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, Chairman
- Bleckley Inn of Court, Georgia State University College of Law, Master
- Georgia State University College of Law Board of Visitors, Member
- LSC Leaders Council, Member
- Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, Board of Directors
- Judicial Nominating Commission, 2003-2018
- Atlanta Bar Association, Former President
- Cobb and American Bar Associations
- Board to Determine the Fitness of Bar Applicants, Former Member
- State Ethics Commission, Former Chairman
- Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, Former Member
- Georgia Republican Party, Current Member of State Committee and Former General Counsel
- Georgia Legal Services Program, Former Director
- Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Former Director
- Federal Defender Program Inc., Former Director
- Board of Governors of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA), Former Member
- Georgia Chapter of RNLA, Founder and Former Chairman
- Brandon Neighborhood Association, Board of Directors
Recognitions
- Recipient of the 2024 Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award from the Georgia State University College of Law
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review (5.0 out of 5)
- The Best Lawyers in America®, 2015-2025
- Daily Report Lifetime Achievement Award, 2020
- Georgia Super Lawyers, 2005-2025
- Amicus Curiae of the Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018
- Judicial Section of the State Bar Spirit of Justice Award, 2017
- Georgia Presidential Elector, 2016
- Georgia Legal Services Program Champion of Justice, 2013
- Emory Law School Epic Inspiration Award, 2011
- Ninth Annual Justice Robert Benham Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service, 2008
- St. Thomas More Society Award for Commitment to Justice and Humanity and Difficult Circumstances During Public Service, 2007
- Atlanta Bar Association Leadership Award, 2003
- Leadership Atlanta, 1978
Education
- Emory University School of Law, LLB
- Vanderbilt University, BA
Bar Admissions
- Georgia
Courts
- Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia