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Subject: The Legend, Bobby Lee Cook Belongs to the Ages Author: Kathy [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: Sat. 02/20/21 4:11:48am In reply to: Kathy 's message, "Bobby Lee Cook, legendary Georgia attorney, dead at 94" on Fri. 02/19/21 10:59:31am https://allongeorgia.com/chattooga-local-news/the-legend-bobby-lee-cook-belongs-to-the-ages/ Bobby Lee Cook, legendary Georgia attorney, has passed away. Mr. Cook’s grandson, Sutton Connelly, posted the following message on Facebook Thursday morning: My grandfather, Bobby Lee Cook, no longer belongs to us but instead to the ages. In memory of Mr. Cook AllOnGeorgia is sharing previous articles and memories: Mr. Bobby Lee Cook. Cook, was an attorney at Cook & Connelly in Summerville, Georgia, and was one of the most renowned and respected trial attorneys in the Southeast. He began practicing law in 1949. Cook tried thousands of civil and criminal cases, including more than 300 murder cases, across the country in 37 states and throughout the world, in countries such as Vietnam, Germany and England. Mr. Cook was one of the nation’s most famed trial lawyers and was well-acquainted with five presidents. Mr. Cook was asked to recall a few of his memorable trails at a event hosted by the Chattooga County Historical Society, to which he made clear, “all trails are important, outcomes affect the lives of the rich and poor alike.” The first case he tried was as a court appointed lawyer, and therefore he made little money. The case was a murder which had taken place in Chattoogaville. Some of Cook’s more publicized cases included his 1996 defense of Tennessee banker C.H. Butcher, Jr. and his 1979 Rockefeller-Carnegie case over Coastal Georgia land which had been seized by the federal government at an unfair price. Another memorable case was the defense of Savannah socialite Jim Williams of the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame. A more recent case in which Cook takes pride was Plymel vs. Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia, on behalf of retired educators who had been shorted benefits in their pension plans. Cook was born in Chattoogaville at his family’s home on February 12, 1927, he had just celebrated his 94th birthday. Cook was the son of the late Paul and Alma Edge Cook and remembered with great detail growing up in the Chattoogaville area. “My father farmed and raised Black Angus cattle and ran a general store, so there was always plenty to eat. He sold anything anybody needed in those days. My parents were hard-working people. During the Depression my mother worked at the Trion Glove Mill. We did not go to town often because there was no particular need to go.” Mr. Cook despite being in his ninth decade was always as sharp as a tack and loved to talk about local history and memories. When asked about those who inspired his life and career, Cook immediately recalled the late Judge Clovis Rivers (1867-1953). “Judge Rivers was the City Court Judge in Summerville. He was a Latin and Greek scholar. He had no interest in making money. He was passionate about the law, and was a true humanist. He was a talented artist with a face like Moses, all who knew him loved him.” Cook began school at the age of five at Lyerly Elementary School. He attended Lyerly School until his junior year in high school when he transferred to Gordon Military College, where he would later graduate from in 1942. Cook hop, skipped and jumped around colleges starting at the University of Georgia, then Vanderbilt University before joining the Navy where he served as a medical corpsman for two years. The two years ended Cook’s desire to be a physician and lead him to concentrate on the law. As a United States Navy Lieutenant, Cook served from 1944-1946. He received his basic training in Bainbridge, Maryland and afterwards was sent to the Pacific theater where he served as a Gunner on the Destroyer, USS Bannon. He received many medals and awards for his service to our country. He received a Quilt of Valor for his service in World War II on February 26, 2019. https://fb.watch/3LAtw637C-/ Cook passed the Georgia Bar Exam in 1949 and immediately opened his practice in Summerville. It is a noteworthy to mention that Cook never actually completed his law degree from Vanderbilt but passed the Bar Exam on his first attempt. His first law office was located upstairs over McGinnis Drug Co. and Cook still recalls the $500 he had to borrow from the bank to purchase the office. Cook recalled once a big shot lawyer in New York inquired as to why he practiced in Summerville. Cook reminded him that, in Summerville, he read the same books that were read in New York City. “I came back to live in Chattooga County just because I wanted to. I had the impression that I could be just as fine a lawyer in Chattooga County as I could in Washington or New York. I continue to believe that. This is the best place to live I have ever known. There is no better place to raise a family.” Lawyers often tend to try their hand at politics and Bobby Lee was no exception. He served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives during the 1949-1950 term, and as a member of the State Senate during the 1957-1958 term. He also served one term as judge of the State Court of Chattooga County from 1961-1964. The TV series Matlock is loosely based on many of Bobby Lee Cook’s cases. Although Bobby Lee commented that he has never received any payment from the series, and had never asked for any either. Bobby Lee Cook was featured in the magazine, Super Lawyers in 2019 for having practiced law for five decades. In the article titled, A Long Way from the Mole Hole in Super Lawyers magazine, Mr. Cook was asked to discuss the following topics. Why Law? Cook: World War II interrupted college- I was a split major in chemistry and Greek classics-and after the war ended, I decided I had to find something to do. It’s not very romantic, but I felt the practice would be a fascinating profession, and it has served me well. Cook said of starting out: I wanted to practice law in a way where I could go to court and try cases. I found out, to my surprise, that I was in the minority. Most trail lawyers don’t try cases. To me, it’s what the law practice is all about; it’s where the action lies. For the first 10 or 15 years of my practice, I tried many civil cases. I tried 15 or 16 murder cases in the first 10 years of my practice. Cook said about civil law: For the first 40 years of my law practice, it was more hospitable. We were much nicer to each other than we are today. If a lawyer called me and said, “I received your complaint in the Jones case and I need 30 more days within which to file. Would you agree to that?” I would say “no problem.” You would not take an order of the court, you would not put anything in writing. It was simply a word-of-mouth proposition. Cook said about uncivil law: When I started practicing in the state, civil rights was on a virtual holiday. There were no African-Americans on the jury. Women could not serve on the jury until 1954. There was no real Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights, as those amendments to the Constitution had not yet been incorporated into the Bill of Rights by virtue of the due process clause. So it was a really bad time. You’d walk into a courthouse in Georgia or Alabama or Tennessee or Mississippi and you would see two drinking fountains, one for “colored,” one for “whites.” African-Americans could not sit in a major courtroom, there were usually balconies where they sat. Cook said of law school: We had 49 men and one lady [in my class]. She was the smartest one in the school. She later married a classmate and he became, at one point, the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. She was his law clerk, and over the years everyone agreed she was the smartest one on the bench. Cook said of his greatest accomplishment: I would consider my greatest accomplishments that I have been given the opportunity to be a member of the bar and to offer my services to literally thousands of people, and to have served them with relative distinction. On retirement, Cook: I’ve done nothing but practice for almost 70 years and although I have lots of hobbies-I’m a boater, a yachtsman-I would be miserable if I were not practicing law. I still enjoy trying cases. I tried two or three major cases last year. Successfully, I might add. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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[> [> Subject: Bobby Lee Cook obituary Author: Kathy [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Tue. 02/23/21 7:35:46pm Bobby Lee Cook, one of America's most celebrated lawyers, died peacefully at his mountain home in Cloudland, Georgia, on February 19th, surrounded by family. He was 94. Bobby Lee was born in Chattoogaville, outside the small northwest Georgia town of Lyerly, on February 12, 1927, where he was raised in a home without running water, helping run the family's modest grocery store and keep up with the farm chores. From this rural beginning, however, the son of Paul Cook and Alma Edge Cook embarked on a life's journey that few could have then imagined. He took his first step into the wider world when, as a teenager, he enrolled in Gordon Academy a military school, where he learned the value of personal discipline, duty, and a robust education. These values were further shaped by World War II. As soon as he graduated from high school, he lied about his age (then only 17) to enlist in the Navy. He first saw the Atlantic Ocean from St. Simons, Georgia on his way to combat in the Pacific. He never forgot that sight, which kindled a lifelong love of the Georgia Coast, and he later would buy homes on Sea Island, Georgia. During Naval training in New Orleans, Cook was also struck by how one would see ships burning off the coast on nearly a nightly basis. He boxed in the Navy, honing his innate fighting spirit which he never lost. Peacetime brought new transitions that each played key roles in the rest of this life. First, he continued his education: Upon returning from the War, he attended the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt Law School. Second, he found his life partner. Bobby Lee married June Hays on June 8th, 1948, in Summerville, Georgia, a true June wedding that started a sixty-seven-year partnership. Bobby Lee began his law practice in 1949 in Summerville, Georgia, and that practice from its inception represented his values: personal discipline, erudite temperament, duty to others, justice for all people from all walks of life, and (not the least important characteristic) an indomitable fighting spirit. He represented labor unions when it was unpopular, and moonshiners when it might not have been convenient. As his practice grew, word of his abilities spread, and he developed a reputation as a talented and successful trial lawyer. While Bobby Lee served in the Georgia Legislature and once ran for Congress, his calling truly was in the courtroom. As time went on, he was called there by many, some of whom paid substantial six and seven figure fees for his skilled advocacy. He represented the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, Robert Vesco, C.H. Butcher, Jr., Mike Thevis, Daniel Paradies, and, for decades, was hired for, or consulted on, nearly every high-profile case in Georgia. His practice went on to transcend Georgia. Among the more than a hundred and fifty acquittals he achieved in murder cases during his career, he won murder trials in Germany and Vietnam, and his career is believed to have inspired the television show Matlock. One of his more colorful cases, in Savannah, is chronicled in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Among all of these cases, though, perhaps the one he was most proud of was the Matthews murder case. That case embodied his abiding sense that justice should never, ever be denied to anyone from any walk of life. Cook spent over $50,000 of his own money and years of his career to overturn murder convictions wrongfully obtained in Cobb County, Georgia. He walked with kings, but never lost the common touch. Though he was friends with and socialized with Justice Douglas, others on the Court, numerous politicians, dignitaries and business leaders, Cook never forgot his roots. On Saturday mornings, he opened his office doors to local residents for whom he offered his counsel, usually at no charge. Cook was also a tireless and gifted teacher and mentored numerous younger lawyers, spoke at uncounted seminars and was generously giving of his time to others working to solve thorny issues encountered in their own cases. He was a tireless worker and early riser, and often instructed colleagues "Call me tomorrow morning at 7.” Bobby Lee Cook was recognized with lifetime achievement awards by both the National and Georgia Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL), Georgia State University College of Law School's 2017 Ben F. Johnson, Jr. Public Service Award, GreenLaw's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Small Town Lawyer Made Good Award, (presented by the State Bar of Washington), inducted into the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame, and many more countless other awards too numerous to list. Even while these well-deserved honors accumulated, he never lost his razor-sharp wit. His award from GACDL included the honor of having his portrait hung in the Georgia Supreme Court. When presented with this, Cook quipped, “I’d rather be hung in the Supreme Court than by the Supreme Court.” Similarly, while he always appreciated the recognition, Cook never rested on his laurels. He practiced law until virtually the time of his death. He was universally recognized as the dean of criminal defense lawyers in Georgia, and his death is mourned across the country. Bobby Lee was predeceased by his wife, June, his son Bobby Lee Cook, Jr., and his son-in-law Lewis Branch Sutton Connelly and Roger Wheeler Williams. He is survived by his daughters Kristina Cook Graham and Sara Cook Williams; his grandchildren, Sarah Holston O’Reagan. Jessica Wheat Cook Hale, Christopher Sutton Connelly, Jeffrey Scott Connelly, Sarah Elizabeth Connelly Turner, and Anna Lee Williams Jones; great-grandchildren, Patrick Aidan Fell, Morgan Aeron Cook Hale, Lillian Grace Connelly, Fiona Bess Connelly, Branch Hays Connelly, Thomasin June Connelly, Vivian Hays Jones, and Olive Kristina Connelly Turner. Due to coronavirus concerns and the safety of others, it was Bobby Lee's wish that his funeral be confined to a private family service. A more fitting memorial service will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be sent to the Boys and Girls Club of Chattooga County, P.O. Box 636, Summerville, Ga. 30747, or Georgia State College of Law, Office of Development, P.O. Box 4037, Atlanta, Ga. 30303. Earle Rainwater Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]