S. Lester Tate, III

A trial lawyer and shareholder at the Akin & Tate law firm in Cartersville, Georgia, S. Lester Tate, III, has a considerable amount of experience defending the rights of those harmed through no fault of their own. Licensed to practice law in Georgia since 1987, he takes on cases including, but not limited to: 

·       Personal injury

·       Workers’ compensation

·       Wrongful death

·       Car and truck accidents

·       Criminal defense

·       Product liability

·       Attorney discipline

In addition to personal injury matters, Mr. Tate has immense experience fighting for those accused of committing state and federal crimes, including conspiracy and murder. He also has experience with cases involving shareholder rights and ballot access issues. Mr. Tate is a tireless and zealous advocate for his clients who have been injured because of the negligence of another party. With a firm commitment to his clients’ needs, he has a long list of having obtained numerous million-dollar and multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients. 

With a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, Mr. Tate worked for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. He then went on to pursue law and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where served on the South Carolina Law Review. 

An active participant in the legal community, Mr. Tate is a board member of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media, and Communications, and the Civil Justice PAC, Inc. In honor of the remarkable legal services he provides, Mr. Tate has an “Excellent” rating on Avvo and has gained several endorsements from his peers. Georgia Trend Magazine named him to its Georgia’s Legal Elite list. 

Being the 48th president of the State Bar of Georgia, Mr. Tate is the national treasurer of the American Board of Trial Advocates and serves as a member at the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates. He is a fellow at the International Society of Barristers, an honorary society for trial lawyers, which is invitation only. Serving as a senior fellow at the Litigation Counsel of America, an honorary society for less than 1% of American lawyers with immense courtroom experience, he is also named to the list of advocates by the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Mr. Tate has memberships in several renowned legal associations, including the American Association for Justice, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Georgia Federal Bar Association, the Bartow County Bar Association, the Cobb County Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Old War Horse Lawyers, Inc., and the Lawyer’s Club of Atlanta.