“Stand next to Jerry at any bar or statewide CLE event, and you’ll meet everyone.” That’s what my new colleagues told me when I joined Stone & Baxter. They were right. Ward Stone (my mentor) and Jerry Kaplan (Ward’s mentor) picked me up at my house on March 18, 2010—literally my first day at the firm—to attend SBLI in Atlanta. And before the weekend was over, I had met more judges and lawyers in three days than I had met in my prior three years of practice combined.

Sadly, Jerome Lewis Kaplan died earlier this year on January 26, 2022. He was 86.

Clearly, I took my time with this. I wanted to get it right, and I hope it is right. Here goes.Continue Reading A Tribute to Jerome L. “Jerry” Kaplan