S. Lester Tate III - Cartersville, GA
Attorney at Akin & Tate
Personal Injury - Plaintiff Lawyers in Cartersville, GA
11 South Public Square Cartersville, GA 30120
- Free Consultation
- 1 Super Lawyers®
-
39
Years
Experience
Cartersville Personal Injury - Plaintiff Lawyer
Updated: 03/02/2026
Areas of Practice
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff 75%
- State & Federal Criminal Defense 10%
- Judicial & Bar Disciplinary Cases 10%
- Commercial Litigation 5%
Litigation: 100%
Attorney Information
Overview
Lester Tate has tried hundreds of cases in federal and state courts throughout Georgia and is recognized as one of the state's top trial lawyers by numerous publications. Additionally, he serves as the elected Treasurer of the State Bar of Georgia, the governing authority of the legal profession in this state.
In 2006, Georgia Trend Magazine named Lester as one of Georgia's Legal Elite. Additionally, Atlanta Magazine and the Journal of Law and Politics have included him on their Super Lawyers lists and, since 1996, he has carried the highest peer review rating given by the national legal directory Martindale Hubble. In 2002, he served as Chairman of the State Bar's Trial Section.
With more than a hundred jury trials to his credit, Lester has won several million dollar personal injury verdicts and settlements. He has successfully defended individuals against murder charges and obtained acquittals for countless others facing felony charges. Lester has also handled a number of complex commercial disputes, and argued more than a dozen cases before Georgia's State and Federal appellate courts.
Lester's recent victories include a $1.3 million dollar verdict against the Georgia Department of Transportation for a man whose wife was killed because of a downed stop sign, and a $2 million dollar judgment for a man who suffered severe brain injury as a result of the inhalation of natural gas. He has also been engaged to represent the chairman of the board and directors of a large electric membership corporation in a multi-million dollar derivative suit. Lester has repeatedly been called upon by both bench and bar for tasks within the profession. These include:
- Representing the lawyers of the Cherokee Judicial Circuit on the State Bar's Board of Governors for over 10 years;
- Appointment by the Supreme Court of Georgia to the Disciplinary Board's Investigative Panel, where he later served as Chairman; and
- Election by the Judges of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia to serve on the Federal Defender Board where he also served as President.
Lester is, and has been for many years active in civic and political affairs. He was the 1995 Chair of the Bartow County United Way campaign and is a former Chair of the Bartow County Democratic Party and the State Democratic Committee. Prior to law school, Lester served on the staff of the U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and as press secretary to Congressman George (Buddy) Darden. For several years Lester wrote a weekly political column for the Cartersville Daily Tribune. He has also served as a legal and political commentator on various radio and television broadcasts.
Awards and Honors
Honors
- Woodland High School Community Volunteer Award (1999-2000)
- Friend of the New Frontiers Award (2009)
- Co-recipient (with other members of the Judicial Qualifications Commission) of the 2014 Weltner Award, given by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation
Other Sources of Feedback About S. Lester Tate III
Included on the 2026Georgia Super Lawyers list
Past Lists
- 2025 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2024 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2021 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2020 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2019 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2018 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2017 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2016 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2015 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2014 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2012 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2011 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2010 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2009 Georgia Super Lawyers list
- 2007 Georgia Super Lawyers list
Education
-
Legal Education
-
University of South Carolina School of Law,
Columbia,
South Carolina
J.D.
Law Review: University of South Carolina Law Review, 1986 - 1987
-
University of South Carolina School of Law,
Columbia,
South Carolina
-
Non Legal Education
-
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta,
Georgia, 1982
B.S.
Major: Industrial Management
-
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta,
Georgia, 1982
Current Employment Position(s)
-
Trial Lawyer & Shareholder
Pro Bono Activities
- Leadership Bartow (Class 0f 2012)
- Gridiron Club
- Advocates For Children Counsel, 1994 - Present
Bar Admissions
- Georgia, 1987
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1988
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1988
Other Affiliations
- State Bar of Georgia, 2010 - 2011 (President)
- State Bar of Georgia - General Practice & Trial Section
- State Bar of Georgia, 1996 - Present (Member, Board of Governors)
- State Bar of Georgia, 2005 - Present (Executive Committee)
- State Bar of Georgia, 2005 - Present (Investigative Panel Disciplinary Board (Chairman 2005))
- State Bar of Georgia - General Practice and Trial Section (Chairman, Treasurer)
- American Board of Trial Advocates, 2022 - Present (National Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee)
- American Bar Association House of Delegates (Member)
- The American Constitution Society - Georgia Chapter (Advisory Board Member)
- Georgia Civil Justice Foundation - Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia (Board of Directors Member)
- Georgia Tech School of Literature - Media and Communications (Advisory Board Member)
- Civil Justice PAC, Inc. (the political arm of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association) (Board Member)
- Southeast Region American Board of Trial Advocates (SEABOTA) (Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair)
- Federal Defender Board Northern District of Georgia (President)
- Investigative Panel of State Bar of Georgia’s Disciplinary Board Chair, Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency (Chairman)
- Institute for Continuing Legal Education - Board of Trustees (Chairman)
- State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors (Member (Representing the Cherokee Judicial Circuit))
- Bartow United Way Campaign (Chairman)
- Georgia Chapter of ABOTA, 2014 - 2016 (President)
- American Bar Association’s Standing Committee of the American Judicial System (Member, Federal Magistrate Selection Committee, U.S. Dist. Ct. N.D. of Ga. Member,)
- American Bar Association
- American Association of Justice
- Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (Champion Member) Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Georgia Federal Bar Association
- Bartow County Bar Association
- Cobb Bar Association
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Old War Horse Lawyers
- Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta
- International Society of Barristers (Fellow)
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Southeastern Chapter , 2021 - 2023 (President)
Photo
Contact
11 South Public Square
Cartersville, GA 30120
Phone: 770-382-0780
Email: Send a message
Website: http://www.akintate.com/
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