The Louisville Bar Association (LBA) recently recognized Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys Doug Farnsley and Brian Bennett with awards for their outstanding contributions to the Louisville legal community. Farnsley received the 2015 Justice Martin E. Johnstone Special Recognition Award. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon an LBA member. Bennett received the 2015 Section of the Year Award on behalf of the LBA Young Lawyers Section (YLS). He served as chair and vice chair of the YLS in 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Each year LBA members are asked to nominate fellow members for various LBA awards. The LBA Executive Committee makes the final decision on all LBA awards. The Justice Martin E. Johnstone Special Recognition Award is presented to an attorney who has made an extraordinary impact in the Louisville community via professional or volunteer activity. Simply stated, the honoree “exemplifies what it means to be a lawyer.” To Farnsley’s credit, he played a crucial role in planning and implementing the first statewide Diversity and Inclusion Summit in April 2015 to address ways the legal profession can reflect the public it represents. He also serves as president of the Kentucky Bar Association, which is a volunteer position requiring a significant time commitment.

In addition, LBA staff nominate sections for the Section of the Year Award. These nominations are based on section activity throughout the year and the programs they helped facilitate. The Executive Committee also considers infor

mation provided when the sections report to the board on their activities. As YLS chair, Bennett hosted regular meetings for the Young Lawyers Section and also provided social and educational opportunities to LBA members. The section also raised funds for Kosair Charities.

Farnsley is a Member (Partner) of Stites & Harbison based in the Louisville, Ky., office. He focuses on civil trial work, including the defense of product liability claims and professional and hospital liability claims. He has over 30 years of trial experience, including more than 50 matters

successfully tried to verdict.

Bennett is an attorney in Stites & Harbison’s Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy Service Group and is also based in the Louisville, Ky., office. His practice focuses on lender liability actions, contested mortgage litigation, commercial real estate disputes, forcible detainer & eviction, general commercial litigation, and residential and commercial compliance matters.