Read our latest article in the May/June 2026 Bench & Bar Magazine.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) is honored to announce a generous $25,000 gift from attorney George E. Meng, which helped launch a challenge encouraging Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) members to keep the KBF voluntary contribution box checked on their dues statement. His leadership gift inspired broad participation—including 100% participation by the law firms of Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC and McBrayer PLLC—and many others joined in support.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) is proud to announce that former Circuit Judge Clarence Allen “Woody” Woodall, III, will be honored with the 9th Annual Judge Edward H. Johnstone Award on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The event will be held at Walker Hall Event Center, 229 Madison Street Paducah, KY 42001, with cocktails at 5:00 p.m. and dinner at 6:00 p.m.

To learn more about this great event, please read the Bowling Green Daily News Coverage: https://bgdailynews.com/2025/02/08/news_english020825/

Community members and businesses are invited to join the Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) as it honors attorney Charles E. English with the inaugural Chief Justice John D. Minton. Jr. award. This award honors the career and legacy of Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr., and his work to improve the legal system and make it more accessible and efficient for all Kentuckians.

Junior Achievement (JA) of the Bluegrass has received a $2,500 grant from the Kentucky Bar Foundation to provide students enrolled in the “Pre-Law” track at Fayette County High Schools with related career academy programs to experience financial literacy lessons designed to help them understand personal finance. The initial program will begin at the Frederick Douglass High School (FDHS) Academy of Professional Services.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) recently conducted a visit to Eastern Kentucky, expressing gratitude to its numerous donors and gaining insights into the pressing needs of the region. During the trip, KBF Executive Director, Susan Duncan, visited AppalReD and community leaders to better understand the challenges facing Eastern Kentucky residents. 

The Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) is pleased to announce that its Executive Director, Susan Duncan, recently conducted a week-long tour of Western Kentucky, visiting key cities including Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Henderson, and Owensboro. This tour aimed to strengthen connections with local bar associations, potential grantees, and legal service providers while promoting the Foundation's mission and initiatives.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation recently achieved a significant milestone, successfully meeting a $20,000 anonymous challenge to secure Life Fellow status for all Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals judges.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation and Kentucky IOLTA Fund welcome Susan Hanley Duncan as their new Executive Director. Duncan brings over 30 years of distinguished leadership experience in legal education and the legal profession to her new role.

Thank you to the following sponsors who helped make An Evening With Goose a successful event!

The Kentucky IOLTA Fund is pleased to announced that it awarded $1,045,000 in grants in September 2023.

The Board of Directors of the Kentucky Bar Foundation (KBF) is pleased to announce that it awarded $250,000 in total grants this summer.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation awarded $260,000 in 2019 at its annual Fellows and Partners for Justice Society Luncheon in Louisville on June 13, 2019 in conjunction with the Kentucky Bar Association's Annual Convention.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation proudly welcomed 24 new Life Fellows and 7 new Fellows at its annual Fellows and Partners for Justice Society Luncheon on June 13, 2019 in Louisville.

The Kentucky Bar Foundation proudly welcomed 16 new Life Fellows and 8 new Fellows at its annual Fellows and Partners for Justice Society Luncheon on June 22, 2017 in Owensboro. The KBF Fellows Program recognizes members of the Kentucky Bar who have shown support for the KBF's mission through their generosity in contributing the KBF. Thanks in part to the generosity of the following new Fellows and Life Fellows, the KBF was able to award $265,000 in grant awards - its highest amount to date - to nonprofits across the state:

Guion L. Johnstone has been named the Executive Director of the Kentucky Bar Foundation and Kentucky IOLTA Fund, effective December 30, 2016. 

The Kentucky IOLTA Fund is proud to announce that it awarded grants totaling $365,000 in September 2016.  The Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (“IOLTA”) Fund was established in 1986 by the Kentucky Supreme Court through SCR 3.830.  IOLTA is a unique and innovative way to increase access to justice for individuals and families living in poverty and to improve our justice system.

At its heart, the Kentucky Bar Foundation is about attorneys and judges helping others.  To celebrate the longstanding tradition of service among members of the Kentucky Bar, the Foundation is proud to spotlight attorneys “doing good” in their communities both in the Bench & Bar magazine and on the Foundation's Facebook page. 

The Kentucky Bar Foundation proudly welcomed 33 new Life Fellows and 8 new Fellows at its annual Fellows and Partners for Justice Society Luncheon on May 12, 2016 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown.