JAMIE PEREZ | MARCH 3, 2020

We’re partnering with Spelman College to provide free legal and social resources to survivors on campus.

In 2018, the Office of Violence Against Women awarded Spelman College a grant to reduce sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus. Through this grant, Spelman is partnering with our Safe & Stable Families Project and Partnership Against Domestic Violence to bring violence prevention resources to campus.

Spelman’s Mission Statement

Spelman College, a historically Black college and a global leader in the education of women of African descent, is dedicated to academic excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and the intellectual, creative, ethical, and leadership development of its students. Spelman empowers the whole person to engage the many cultures of the world and inspires a commitment to positive social change.

Our Safe & Stable Families collaborates with Spelman’s Coordinated Community Response team to serve students dealing with sexual assault, intimate partner abuse, dating violence, and stalking in a streamlined and holistic manner.

Survivors of abuse on college campuses face their own unique challenges, and we’re adapting our process to best serve the students who need our help.

The closed community on a college campus can serve as a barrier to seeking help. A survivor might hesitate due to fear of peer retaliation, conflicts with mutual friends, or concerns about privacy. And addition to addressing their immediate safety concerns, many survivors are also navigating the campus adjudication process, adding more stress to a survivor who is already dealing with significant trauma.

 We’re setting up simple, confidential meetings with AVLF staff so that we can support survivors at Spelman in navigating a challenging legal system.

Furthermore, women of color face unique barriers to finding legal protection from their abusers. “Few women of color report complaints to law enforcement,” says Nicole Johnson, Title IX & Compliance Director at Spelman. “Some see the TPO as a way to get protection without filing a criminal complaint for fear of police violence, or ruining opportunity for another person of color.”

To help, we’re setting up simple, confidential meetings with AVLF staff so that we can support survivors at Spelman in navigating a challenging legal system. Whether that means setting up an immediate meeting with an attorney – sometimes even before service has happened – or connecting survivors with other community resources, we’re honored to provide support to Spelman’s students.

Learn more about the Title IX team at Spelman College.

ASHLEIGH STARNES | January 27th, 2020

The 2020 Annual Campaign is dedicated to Marty Ellin.

2020 is a big year for AVLF. This will be Marty Ellin’s last year as our Executive Director, and we have an audacious fundraising goal of $1.5 million.

Each year, our Annual Campaign helps us raise these unrestricted funds to bring crucial legal and social services to low income Atlantans.

We’ve assembled a team of some of our most loyal supporters – friends of Marty who are ready to help us reach our goals and help make a Atlanta a fairer and more equitable city.

We’ve assembled a team of some of our most loyal supporters – friends of Marty who are ready to help us reach our goals and help make a Atlanta a fairer and more equitable city.

We kicked off our Annual Campaign with a luncheon on January 24^th at King & Spalding. A list of the full Steering Committee can be found here.

We are thrilled to announce the Chairs of the Steering Committee – Edward Krugman, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP; Wade Malone, Nelson Mullins; and Paul Murphy, King & Spalding.

We thank the committee for championing Marty’s commitment to the Atlanta community and creating a more equitable Atlanta.

More about our Chairs

Edward Krugman has been achieving optimal outcomes for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving trade secrets and unfair competition, copyright, trademark and patent litigation, antitrust, employment, corporate governance, and direct selling for over 30 years. Chambers USA has recognized Edward as a leading lawyer in the fields of general commercial litigation and antitrust and he has been honored as an Atlanta Super Lawyer every year since the award’s inception. He is a frequent lecturer, and has published numerous articles on trial practice and corporate litigation issues such as covenants not to compete and internal investigations. He currently serves on the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors, Formal Advisory Opinion Board, and the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures Committee.

Wade Malone practices commercial litigation and leads Nelson Mullin’s Atlanta office business litigation team. His litigation practice includes representation of both plantiffs and defendants in litigation in both state and federal courts including business, healthcare, intellectual property, antitrust, restrictive covenant, and commercial litigation. He graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School. Wade is a former member of AVLF’s Board of Directors and is a current Member-At-Large of the Atlanta Bar Foundation.

Paul Murphy is a retired King & Spalding senior business litigation partner. For over 30 years, Paul represented U.S. based and multinational corporations in high risk complex commercial disputes, class actions, and tort litigation. He is a long-serving member of the AVLF Board of Directors and sits on the Executive Committee. Paul is a graduate of Emory University School of Law.

A special thank you to Jeff Cashdan, former President of AVLF Board of Directors, and our friends at King & Spalding for hosting the luncheon. You can learn more about the campaign here.

All gifts designated in honor of Marty Ellin will be recognized on the donor roll and in the 2020 Annual Report.

Wondering where we’re headed? Read about our new Strategic Plan.

ASHLEIGH STARNES | January 27th, 2020

Big news: 2020 will be Marty Ellin’s last year at AVLF.

For the last 20 years, Marty Ellin’s leadership has established a stable foundation for the future of AVLF.

We’ve grown tremendously as an organization, hosted dozens of successful fundraisers, and moved the needle toward a safer and more stable Atlanta.

Under Marty’s wing, we fostered countless friendships within the Atlanta legal community and beyond.

We’re looking forward to strengthening these partnerships as we welcome Michael Lucas as our next Executive Director, effective January 1, 2021.

Under Michael’s leadership, we’ve grown to be at the forefront of place-based, mobile, and trauma-informed legal services that help low-income Atlantans reach the justice they deserve.

Since Michael began his tenure as Deputy Director in 2014, he has worked with Marty to safely guide our organization through a time of significant growth and change. Under Michael’s leadership – first as the head of Housing and Consumer Programs and now as our Deputy Director – we’ve grown to be at the forefront of place-based, mobile, and trauma-informed legal services that help low-income Atlantans reach the justice they deserve.

Our goals are innovative and ambitious, and there is no better person to lead us there than Michael.

This spring, we set out on a strategic planning process in which we mapped the next 5, 10, even 25 years of AVLF’s future. We spent countless hours determining the right goals and the right metrics to support us in our growth.

Our goals are innovative and ambitious, and there is no better person to lead us there than Michael.

Michael will honor Marty’s years of dedication to our mission by committing himself to thoughtful, creative, and socially conscious leadership as our Executive Director.

Thank you for standing with us in the fight for equal justice, and we look forward to building a fairer and more equitable Atlanta.

Read more about the Strategic Plan.