Legal Services Alabama—the non-profit law firm dedicated to providing free civil legal assistance to low-income Alabamians—recently announced the 2026 recipients of its annual Justice, Fairness and Hope Awards.
The awards honor “advocates from around the state whose work embodies [LSA’s] core values of Justice, Fairness and Hope.”
Receiving the Tommy Wells Justice Award will be Judge Myron H. Thompson. Thompson was appointed to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, served as chief judge from 1991 to 1998, and has served as a senior judge on the court since 2013. Throughout his career, Thompson has presided over significant cases involving civil rights, voting rights, prison conditions, policing practices, and redistricting and has been active in preserving Alabama’s civil rights history. Thompson was also the first African-American to serve as a bar examiner and as assistant attorney general in Alabama.
The Taze Shepard Pro Bono Fairness Award will go to Alabama State Bar President Tom Perry and attorney Tom Heflin. Perry and Heflin head up Harvesters of Hope, a nonprofit foundation designed to address Alabama’s “legal deserts” where residents lack meaningful access to legal services. Through Harvesters of Hope, Perry and Heflin incentivize new lawyers to establish practices in rural counties, mentor and support those lawyers, and partner with local leaders, courts and organizations to promote long-term community investment.
Lastly, state Senator Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, will receive the John Lewis Hope Award. Figures has served in the Alabama Senate since 1997, when she won the seat of her late husband, Michael Figures. Figures was the first African-American woman from Mobile County to serve in the Senate and became the first woman to lead their party in the Alabama Legislature when she was selected to be the Alabama Senate Democrats’ floor leader in 2012. Figures’ son, Shomari Figures, currently represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Each award recipient has demonstrated their commitment to advancing access to justice in Alabama and reflect the leadership of the three individuals for whom the awards are named—Tommy Wells, Taze Shepard and John Lewis,” said Guy Lescault, LSA executive director.
The three awardees will be honored on May 7, 2026, at the RSA Activity Center in downtown Montgomery. All sponsorships and ticket donations from the event will go toward LSA’s John Lewis Legal Fellowship program, which trains recent law graduates with an interest in rural economic justice for a career in public interest lawyering.
