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Notable Alumni

Each year, the Emory Law Alumni Awards recognize outstanding alumni who have achieved distinction in legal practice, teaching, research, or public administration and who have demonstrated distinguished service to Emory Law, the Emory Law Alumni Association, or Emory University.

Nominations

We welcome nominations throughout the year. To submit an alumni award nomination, click one of the following links:

2026 Distinguished Alumni Award

Established in 1985, the Distinguished Alumni Award is given to an alumna or alumnus who embodies the values of the school and has demonstrated extraordinary achievement in the legal profession and in service to society.

Luther J. Battiste, III 74L

Luther Battiste, III 74L
Luther J. Battiste, III is a founding shareholder of Johnson, Toal & Battiste, P.A., and the past National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates 2020. He received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina (1971) and JD from Emory University School of Law (1974).

In 1983, Battiste entered the political arena and made history by becoming one of the first two African-Americans elected to Columbia City Council since Reconstruction. He served fifteen years as a member of the Columbia City Council including two terms as Mayor Pro Tempore. In 1998, the City of Columbia dedicated to Luther J. Battiste, III the Monument and Plaza in honor of his dedicated service as a public servant.

Battiste has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America, and Super Lawyers and also has been awarded the “AV” highest rating for ethics and legal ability by the Martindale-Hubbell national rating service. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Society of Barristers. Membership is by invitation only.

Battiste has served as president of the Columbia Lawyers Association, the Richland County Bar, Association, the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association, and the Southeastern Region of the American Board of Trial Advocates (SEABOTA).

He is also a member of the John Belton O’Neil Inn of Court, Southern Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, the National Bar Association, the South Carolina Association for Justice, International Society of Barristers, and the Injured Workers Advocates.

He served two terms as Commissioner of the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission which operates the Columbia Airport and as Chairman for two years. In 1999, Battiste received the coveted Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of South Carolina. In 1999, he was selected to the South Carolina Black Hall Fame and for inclusion in the Bell South African American Calendar for 2004. In 2007, the Richland County Bar Association awarded him the John W. Williams Award, its highest honor. In 2008, he was selected by Historic Columbia Foundation as one of the 30 Most Significant African-Americans in Richland County.

Battiste was 2020 national president of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was the first African American president of ABOTA, an invitation only organization of over 7,600 of the best plaintiff and defense trial lawyers in the United States.

His previous community service includes serving as President of the Board of the Columbia Museum of Art, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Capital City Club and as Chair of University Associates, a group of business professional and community leaders who support the University of South Carolina. He also served for 15 years on the board of South State Bank and on the board of Columbia College.

Battiste is married to Judy M. Battiste, and they have two children, Justin and Jade. He is a lay minister and chalice bearer at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

2026 Alumni Service Award

The Alumni Service Award honors an alumna or alumnus who has contributed significant, sustained leadership and outstanding service to the Emory Law community.

Greg Hanthorn 85L

Gregory Hanthorn 85L
Greg Hanthorn retired from practice in 2024 with Jones Day and its Atlanta predecessor firm, Hansell & Post, after serving as an associate, partner, and of counsel in the litigation group. For nearly 40 years, Hanthorn successfully tried disputes ranging from “zero discovery” arbitrations to multi-month jury and bench trials. Significant cases involved representing the estate of Margaret Mitchell’s brother in recovering unique papers concerning the book and movie “Gone With the Wind,” obtaining a permanent injunction against union protesters on properties connected with the 1988 Democratic National Convention that prohibited disruptive protests on Peachtree Center property (including the affirmance of that injunction by the Georgia Supreme Court), obtaining orders and appellate opinions in the trusts and estates area that clarified the scope of the duties owed by trustees to primary and contingent beneficiaries, and in the product liability arena obtaining a defense verdict for a tobacco manufacturer following a four-month jury trial. 

Hanthorn's 40-plus-year involvement giving back as an alumnus of Emory Law includes service on the Executive Committee of the Judge Clarence Cooper Inn of Court (2006 to present, including a term as president from 2012 - 2014), service as past chair of the Emory Law at Work fundraising campaign, membership since 2001 on the Board of Advisers to the Emory Law Journal (a natural affinity for the journal's editor in chief for the 1984-85 edition), presenting frequent sessions with the Kessler-Eidson Trial Technique Program, facilitating at multiple sessions of the first year student groups of the Georgia Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, and related volunteer activities.

In the broader legal community, Hanthorn is a frequent creator and presenter of innovative Continuing Legal Education programs, particularly in the ethics and professionalism areas. Panels Hanthorn has created and moderated have featured at the Annual Convention of the Federal Bar Association, as the keynote Kruse Ethics Presentation at the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, at multiple Annual Meetings of the American Bar Association, and at multiple sessions at the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s Annual CLE Conference. As a result, his chapter “Professionalism for the Next Generation: An Interactive Approach to CLE” appears in the book Ethics and Professionalism: The Keys to Building and Maintaining a Successful Law Practice published by the American Bar Association in 2026.

Hanthorn serves as a member of the American Law Institute, was recognized by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers in the areas of Commercial and Business Litigation for over a decade, has served for over a decade on the Federal Practice Task Force of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, on which he is serving his third rotation as co-chair for 2026-27, and is also a past chair of the American Bar Association Litigation Section's Ethics and Professionalism Committee (2008-2013). In addition, he is a past member of Berry College's Board of Visitors and of the Board of Advisors of the Besharat Arts Foundation, and a past chair of the board of directors of the Atlanta Shakespeare Company (2006-2009) where during his decade of service he also served as chair of the education and finance committees. 

Hanthorn and his wife Judy are the proud parents of two grown sons and their wonderful wives and the proud grandparents of Wesley. He is a frequent adult Bible study teacher/facilitator, avid juggler (including fire clubs), amateur prestidigitator, Sherlock Holmes and other classic mystery fiction aficionado, art gawker, Shakespeare fanatic, and early to classic cinema buff. 

2026 Eléonore Raoul Trailblazer Award

The Eléonore Raoul Trailblazer Award commemorates Eléonore Raoul 1920L, the first woman admitted to Emory University and a national leader in the women’s suffrage movement. It can be awarded to any Emory Law alumnus who has blazed a trail for women through their own professional and personal endeavors.

Sherry Boston 99L

Sherry Boston 99L
Sherry Boston stands among the elite in the world of prosecution as one of the rare 1% of African American women currently serving as district attorney nationwide.

Boston was first elected as the district attorney for DeKalb County in 2016. In her capacity, she oversees the prosecution of felony offenses filed in the Superior Court of DeKalb County and supervises a staff of more than 300 people including attorneys, investigators, paralegals, victim advocates, and administrative professionals.

Since taking the helm as district attorney in January 2017, Boston has assembled a diverse and highly experienced leadership team. She recognizes the critical role her office plays in the criminal justice system and was the first district attorney in Georgia to mandate Implicit Bias training for all employees.

During her tenure, Boston has made it a priority to keep her office on the leading edge of crime trends establishing a Human Trafficking and Internet Crimes Unit, a Digital Forensics Unit, and a Firearm Violence Prevention Unit. Her office also works closely with the DeKalb County Police Department, DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation and others as part of the DeKalb County Cold Case Task Force.

Observers have taken notice of her accomplishments. Atlanta Magazine has repeatedly lauded her as one of metro Atlanta’s 500 Most Influential People, featuring her on the coveted front cover of the publication in 2019. Through her work with the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, Boston has also become an integral part of the national dialogue on criminal justice reform and innovative prosecution strategies specific to juvenile justice, reentry, and accountability initiatives. Boston served as one of the original appointees to the GRACE Commission, a statewide task force created in 2019 by Georgia’s First Lady Marty Kemp to combat human trafficking.

Prior to her role as district attorney, Boston served as DeKalb County solicitor-general, the elected prosecutor overseeing misdemeanor crimes. During her tenure as solicitor-general, she was instrumental in the development of DeKalb’s revamped Traffic Division and also implemented a wide variety of innovative programming and strategies aimed at community outreach and crime prevention.

In addition to her elected positions, Boston has received numerous legal appointments and wide recognition for her innovative prevention/intervention initiatives and impassioned commitment to domestic violence awareness. In 2018, she received the Champion for Change Award from the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence for her leadership in the DV arena, including the development of two signature community awareness campaigns.

In 2024, Boston was honored with awards on the national, state and local levels. Public Rights Project, a non-profit that works with local governments to protect civil rights, named her a 2024 Justice Seeker. The Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL) presented her with the Leading Lady Award, which is given to a GAWL member who is an exemplary leader in the legal profession and in the community, and Leadership DeKalb recognized Boston with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

Several other organizations have also recognized Boston in recent years with awards for her public service.

Among her varied involvement in community and legal organizations, she is an active member of the State Bar of Georgia where she serves on the Board of Governors, the State Bar’s policy-making arm.

In July 2025, Boston was chosen by her peers to chair the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, which provides important services to the hundreds of elected and appointed prosecutors across the State of Georgia

Boston is a graduate of Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Emory School of Law. She resides in DeKalb County with her husband and two daughters.

2026 Young Alumni Award

The Young Alumni Award recognizes the professional and personal achievements of an alumna or alumnus who graduated within the past 15 years and has made notable leadership and service contributions to Emory Law and to the legal profession.

Sara Hamilton 12L

Sara Hamilton 12L
Sara Hamilton is Senior Director and Associate General Counsel, Employment Law & Workgroup Innovation at UPS, where she leads national employment law, workplace investigations, and legal innovation initiatives for one of the world's largest employers. Previously, she led UPS's national employment litigation team, overseeing more than 1,700 matters nationwide and a multi-year labor preemption strategy that produced precedent-setting victories in four federal courts of appeals and multiple states.

Before joining UPS, Hamilton practiced labor and employment law at Thompson Hine LLP and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. She was recognized as a Georgia Rising Star for six consecutive years, an honor awarded to fewer than 2.5% of attorneys under age 40. In 2021, Governor Kemp appointed her Special Master in a Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity matter, making her the first Asian American appointed to that role.

Beyond her work at UPS, Hamilton has devoted significant time to service and community. She has served in leadership positions with the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association and was a founding member and past President of the Korean American Bar Association of Georgia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped launch the AAPI Crime Victims Education Fund. She has also served on the boards of the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Southeast US Korean Chamber of Commerce, and Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (now AAAJ-Atlanta).

Hamilton spent six years on the boards governing Atlantic Station's mixed-use development, including as President of its minority shareholder, the 12 Atlantic Station condominium. During that time, the association tripled reserves, completed more than $2 million in capital projects, reduced bad debt by 95%, and successfully pursued a first-of-its kind derivative action that returned more than $500,000 to homeowners and created long-term savings for the community.

At Emory Law, Hamilton served on the Emory Law Journal and was President of the Asian American Law Students Association. She received the American Bar Association's Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law and the Dean's Award in Employment Discrimination.