2026 Alumni Award Recipients

J. Henry Walker, ’86
Outstanding Alumnus Award

Henry Walker, a 1986 graduate of Mercer Law, has built an extraordinary career as one of the nation’s most respected commercial litigators and law firm leaders. A proven visionary, Walker served as Chair and CEO of Kilpatrick from 2013 to 2024. During his tenure, the firm expanded into major new markets including Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, Shanghai, and Beijing. Following servant leadership principles, the Firm prioritized being a force for good for its clients, its communities and its attorneys and staff. His leadership and influence have earned widespread recognition: the Atlanta Business Chronicle named him one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs in 2019 and honored him as an Executive Champion of Corporate Citizenship in 2024. Annually, Atlanta Magazine includes Walker among the region’s “500 Most Powerful Leaders” and for the past four years, Georgia Trend has named him one of “Georgia’s 500 Most Influential Leaders.”

Walker continues his practice as Chair Emeritus and partner on Kilpatrick’s Complex Commercial Litigation Team, representing major clients in high-stakes disputes across the technology and telecommunications sectors. He has been repeatedly named to The Best Lawyers in America® in numerous litigation categories and recognized as an “Eminent Practitioner” in Chambers USA. He has served as lead counsel in multimillion-dollar trials, helped achieve landmark victories in the United States Supreme Court, and is highly regarded for helping clients mitigate risk and prevent litigation. He practiced with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP from the start of his career and rejoined the firm in 2007 after serving as Chief Litigation Counsel at BellSouth Corporation, where he earned both the President’s Award and the General Counsel’s Award for Excellence.

Deeply committed to his profession and his community, Walker serves on the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Executive Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Grady Health Foundation. A current Mercer University Trustee and former chair of the Law School Board of Visitors, he continues to champion Mercer Law’s mission with distinction and pride.

Henry is married to Laine Walker (CLAS, ’83, LAW, ’86). They have two daughters, Dr. Elizabeth Walker Wadsworth and Margaret Walker Culver, as well as three precious grandchildren.

The Honorable Eric K. Dunaway, ’96
Meritorious Service Award

Judge Eric K. Dunaway currently serves as a Judge on the Superior Court of Georgia, Atlanta Judicial Circuit. Judge Dunaway was elected to the Superior Court in July 2016 and was sworn in January 2017. Judge Dunaway is a Georgia native, born in Atlanta at Grady Memorial Hospital, and was raised in South Fulton County. He is the proud son of a schoolteacher and a small business owner. He grew up watching his dad run his own courier service and spent many summers working in the family business.

Judge Dunaway graduated Cum Laude from Morehouse College in 1993 and then earned a three-year scholarship to Mercer Law School. After graduating law school in 1996, Judge Dunaway chose to return home to Atlanta. He began his legal career in the City Court of Atlanta prosecuting DUI cases and then spent nearly 11 years in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, where he worked on major felonies, which included sexual assaults and homicides. He later went on to work in Paulding County as a Senior Assistant District Attorney for two years, where he prosecuted child molestation cases. For the next six years, he worked in the DeKalb District Attorney’s office serving as the Deputy Chief District Attorney over the sexual assault and domestic violence units. Protecting Metro Atlanta women and children became the hallmark of his twenty-year career.

Judge Dunaway is an active member of several bar associations, including the Atlanta Bar Association, State Bar of Georgia, North Fulton Bar Association, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), American Bar Association, Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, Stonewall Bar Association, and Gate City Bar Association, where he served as Chair of the Judicial Section. Judge Dunaway is also a member of Mercer Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors, member and past vice president of Mercer Law School Black Alumni Association, Leadership Atlanta class of 2019, and Morehouse College Alumni Association.

Judge Dunaway is married to fellow attorney, Julie Kert. Together, they are raising two beautiful daughters.

Virginia C. Josey, ’16
Young Alumna Volunteer of the Year Award

Since graduating from Mercer Law in 2016, Virginia Josey has exemplified what it means to be a servant-leader in the legal profession. A dedicated trial lawyer, she has remained deeply committed to Mercer Law’s nationally recognized advocacy program—coaching multiple mock trial teams for more than five years and teaching Advanced Litigation Drafting to second- and third-year students. Her influence extends statewide as recent chair of the Georgia Bar’s High School Mock Trial, a faculty member of the Georgia High School Mock Trial Academy, former Middle Georgia High School Mock Trial regional coordinator, and a highly engaged mentor who volunteers her time conducting mock interviews for 1L Mercer Law students.

Josey’s professional journey reflects excellence and a passion for justice. She has been named a National Trial Lawyers Association “Top 40 Under 40” honoree for three consecutive years in the civil plaintiff category and is a graduate of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association’s Trial and Mediation Academy, the State Bar’s Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy, Leadership Macon, and the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s LEAD program. Last year, she received the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Community Service Award. This year, she was sworn in as president-elect of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia. She also currently serves on the Georgia Bar’s Disciplinary Board.

Her commitment to community runs just as deep. She serves as the regional representative for Legal Food Frenzy, benefiting the Middle Georgia Food Bank, and previously served on the Middle Georgia Alliance to End Regional Trafficking, speaking statewide on protections for victims. She is past president of the Middle Georgia Women Lawyers Association and remains active in a wide range of professional organizations.

During law school, Josey distinguished herself as Honor Court justice and president of the Advocacy Council, while competing nationally and earning the James C. Estes Moot Court Award and induction into the Order of Barristers. A Texas native raised in Tennessee and Georgia, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University, where she currently serves as the Alumni Board of Directors president-elect.

Virginia enjoys time with her husband, Jordan—also a Mercer Law graduate—and their son, friends, baking, live music, and traveling.