Gordon Bonnyman wins the Morris Justice Award

Gordon Bonnyman has spent his entire career representing low-income clients, the elderly, prisoners, disabled persons, and the uninsured. He has been the lead counsel in more than a dozen class actions lawsuits, many of which have served as models for legal services organizations throughout the United States. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1972, Bonnyman began his career with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and The Cumberlands. In 1996, in response to new lobbying restrictions placed on legal services organizations, he founded the Tennessee Justice Center with Michele Johnson. He initially worked without a salary until additional funding could be secured. A seasoned and successful litigator, he is also an accomplished legislative advocate and policy analyst. He lobbied for nursing home regulatory reform in Tennessee, which was adopted in 1987.

Bonnyman is known as one of the top health law theoreticians and practitioners in the country.
He and the TJC have been personally attacked by state officials and other entrenched powers in Tennessee—the nursing home industry, the hospital ndustry, and the health insurance industry. But Bonnyman has never wavered in his commitment to Tennesseans who are poor, ill, disabled, or imprisoned.

In spite of the pressure and challenge of his work, Bonnyman never loses his sense of humor, even with adversaries. He remains witty and warm while advancing the interests of his clients. As one nominator put it, “Gordon encourages us to take ourselves much less seriously than we take our work.”“The Morris Dees Justice Award should be given to someone who shows great compassion and love for people. Brother Bonnyman has these qualities.”
Dr. Dwight Montgomery
President, SCLC Memphis Chapter