NASHVILLE, June 8, 2020 -- Memphis attorney Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg will be honored with this year's prestigious William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award, which will be presented by the TBA's Young Lawyers Division Fellows at the association's virtual convention on June 18.

"'Jocie' exemplifies the William Leech Public Service Award, as a modern-day suffragist who has shaped the history of Memphis and Shelby County," YLD Fellows Vice President Bill Haltom said in announcing her selection.

Wurzberg's career in Memphis has many highlights that extend beyond her legal accomplishments. Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she joined the fight for civil rights, women's rights and social justice, founding the local Panel of American Women to address prejudice and the Concerned Women of Memphis and Shelby County, which was credited with helping avert a second sanitation workers' strike a year after King's assassination.

President Gerald Ford appointed her to the International Women's Year Commission, and she served on the Tennessee Human Rights Commission under Gov. Winfield Dunn, writing Tennessee's first anti-discrimination law in employment, public accommodations and housing. She has since been recognized by organizations across Tennessee for her work civil and human rights.

As an attorney, she was Memphis' first professional mediator and founded the Mediation Association of Tennessee. In 2019, she was recognized by the Association for Women Attorneys with its Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Legal Profession.

Wurzberg, a graduate of Rhodes College and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, will be presented the Leech Award during the Tennessee Bar Association's virtual Lawyers Luncheon on June 18. The award is given by the Fellows of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), a nonprofit organization formed to support the development of young attorneys in the state.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) was founded in 1881. Its membership represents the entire spectrum of the legal profession in Tennessee and beyond. The TBA is open to all licensed attorneys in good standing, and it is dedicated to enhancing fellowship and professionalism among the members of Tennessee's legal community.