Quick snapshot: Ashley Prebula Frazier Heintz. I went to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I received a B.A. in Political Science and minors in Social & Economic Justice and Spanish. I attended The University of Georgia School Law, and thereafter clerked for Judge Clay Land in the Middle District of Georgia. After clerking, I joined Jones Day, where I now practice securities litigation. In addition to serving on AVLF’s Junior Board and the PurSHOEing Justice planning committee, I also serve on the Board of Reading Is Essential For All People (REAP) and the Board of the Make-A-Wish of Georgia Atlanta Young Professionals.
How did you get involved with Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation? In the fall of 2014, my mentor and AVLF Board Member Walt Davis, knowing I was passionate about public service, the access to justice, and shoes, introduced me to Elizabeth Finn Johnson to discuss PurSHOEing Justice. The next thing I know I was helping on the committee to plan the 2015 PurSHOEing Justice event. I started volunteering the same year.
Give us your best elevator pitch – what does AVLF mean to you? AVLF provides a chance for those who would not otherwise have a chance to be represented and supported in their struggles and legal battles by outstanding volunteer lawyers and other professionals. AVLF deploys the best and brightest attorneys in Atlanta who are passionate about this community and the rule of law to help our citizens. Whether we are representing a survivor of domestic violence, a mistreated tenant, or a child through our guardian ad litem program, AVLF seeks to provide justice and compassion to our clients. One client at a time, we are making the Atlanta community better. The work that we all do or can do for AVLF, whether as board members, volunteers, sponsors, or supporters, literally changes lives.
What is your favorite AVLF moment? Earlier this year, I, along with three other attorneys from my firm, went to trial on behalf of an AVLF client in a landlord-tenant matter. Our clients were a mother and son who quite literally lost all of their worldly possessions and became homeless due to the landlord’s failure to repair the premises, resulting in three floods of their apartment and rampant mold and mildew growth. At the conclusion of trial, the judge granted our clients the full jurisdictional amount of damages. When we walked out of the courtroom, both of our clients were crying tears of relief and joy. They both gave us hugs, wanted a team picture, and could not stop saying thank you. The mother looked at us and said that now they could get their own place to live and buy a new couch. That comment struck me, and humbled me. In believe that moment epitomizes why we volunteer for AVLF: the clients. And it reminded me the importance of what we do: help people get access to basic human necessities and the chance to get justice.
What are you proudest of professionally? I am proud of the fact that I have a career in which I can do sophisticated legal work while maintaining an active pro bono practice and staying involved in the community. I love that I am able to fulfill my passion for public service with the support of a firm that encourages community involvement and, specifically, supports AVLF’s work.
And personally? I am proud that I have an incredible husband who supports me in all of my endeavors and inspires me to live out my passions and approach each day as a new opportunity.
Is there anything else you want our readers to know? Going into this profession and a large firm, I made the commitment not to give up public service. I hope that all lawyers take the opportunity that AVLF and other non-profit organizations provide to give back to the community and put our skills to work for those who cannot afford to pay us for our services.
