The University of Georgia School of Law is pleased to announce the creation of the Gary B. Blasingame Scholarship Fund, which was made possible by a $100,000 donation by the law firm Blasingame, Burch, Garrard, & Ashley, P.C., in tribute to a founding partner widely known as a strong advocate for his clients and an attorney of the highest caliber.

“We are honored by the commitment Blasingame, Burch, Garrard, & Ashley has chosen to make to our law school as well as by this special opportunity to celebrate a distinguished alumnus whose engagement with our school throughout his career made a meaningful impact,” Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said. “This scholarship fund will hopefully inspire its recipients to follow Gary’s example of leadership both in his profession and his community.” 

Blasingame, for whom the fund is named, earned his law degree from UGA in 1961 and was awarded the law school’s highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Service Scroll Award, in 2004. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney and as the director of the law school’s Legal Aid and Defender Society clinical programs before becoming a founding member of Athens-based Blasingame, Burch, Garrard, & Ashley, a firm that has risen to national prominence in the practice areas of medical malpractice and product liability, among others.

“Gary has been a lion of the bar for almost five decades and an integral part of many of the successes that our firm has enjoyed since its inception in 1984,” Blasingame, Burch, Garrard, & Ashley Managing Partner Henry G. Garrard III said. “He is a tremendous trial lawyer who devoted his efforts for many years to seeking justice for injured individuals, and he always did so with the utmost honor and ethics. Gary has also been a tremendous supporter of Georgia Law, and we believe establishing this scholarship in his honor is a fitting tribute to such a fine attorney who we all are blessed to have called our partner.”

Blasingame, who retired in late 2016, is widely recognized by his peers locally and nationally for his expertise in civil practice and procedure as well as his demeanor in the courtroom. Throughout his career, he held numerous leadership positions with the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Bar Foundation, the Western Circuit Bar Association, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the law school’s alumni association, on which he served one term as president. Additionally, he was active in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Association for Justice. 

The firm’s gift was recognized by W. Pope Langdale III, president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, with which Blasingame has also been active throughout his career.  “The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association commends Blasingame, Burch, Garrard, & Ashley for its contribution to the University of Georgia School of Law in honor of Gary Blasingame, and we are proud that they will now join the long list of distinguished GTLA members who have supported and continue to support the state’s flagship law school both financially and through service on a variety of university boards,” he said. 

The official announcement of the Gary B. Blasingame Scholarship Fund took place during an event on January 24, 2017, at the law school.