Atlanta—Joshua C. Bell of Kirbo Kendrick & Bell LLC in Bainbridge, president of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia, presided over the YLD’s signature fund-raiser for 2009, “Casino Royale,” on Jan. 9 at The Biltmore in Midtown Atlanta.

Among the more than 175 attendees at the black-tie event were Georgia Court of Appeals Judges G. Alan Blackburn and John Ellington.

Bell serves as Municipal Court Judge for the cities of Bainbridge, Cairo, Climax and Whigham and an Assistant Magistrate Judge in Grady County.

The casino night festivities and silent auction raised more than $56,000, and proceeds will benefit Kids Against Hunger, a non-profit organization committed to packaging and distributing food around the world to hungry and starving children.

There are more than 30 packaging satellites across the United States. The only one located in Georgia is run by attorney Melvin Horne in Cairo.

“The amount raised exceeded last year’s total by more than $10,000, despite the challenging economic climate,” Bell said. “This could not have happened without the generous support of the state’s law firms and law-related vendors and the generosity of Georgia’s attorneys—young and old.”