Over the past few years, I have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement with AVLF’s Safe Families Office. Safe Families pairs volunteer attorneys with clients to represent the clients at hearings for 12-month protective orders. The objective of Safe Families is to safeguard clients from future domestic violence. Not only does the Safe Families Office give me a great opportunity to get out of my office and into the courtroom, but it also allows me to use my legal education to make a genuine difference in someone else’s life.

CAREY KERSTEN | September 23, 2015 The mission of Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is to create safe and stable homes and families by inspiring attorneys to fight for equal justice. It is clear that an important extension of this work is to promote a clear understanding of the lives of the families and individuals served through […]

AVLF does amazing work with the people most often taken advantage of in Atlanta: the low-income. In this group, Spanish-speakers are often disproportionately affected by slumlords and unscrupulous employers. I came into this job last year having spoken a little Spanish, but not nearly enough to properly assist these vulnerable clients. I had the opportunity last month to spend two weeks intensively studying Spanish in Monterrico, Guatemala, to help me better support the Spanish-speakers who call our office.

Who, what, where? Jane Warring; Graduate of Emory University Law School; Started career at Holland & Knight, moved to Robins Kaplan Miller and Ciresi (now Robins Kaplan) in 2008. Left in 2013 with three other colleagues to start the Atlanta office of Clyde & Co US LLP. The Clyde & Co Atlanta office now has 10 attorneys and 6 staff members. I am the current President of the Junior Board of AVLF.

Who, what, & where? Dena Hong, J.D. with honors from Emory in 1999; undergrad at Indiana University. I’ve been with UPS since 2004 and am currently Labor & Employment Counsel for the Corporate office. Before joining UPS, I was a Labor & Employment associate at Kilpatrick Stockton and a Litigation associate at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell. I’m the current Vice President of the AVLF Board of Directors and will the President in 2016.

CAREY KERSTEN | June 30, 2015 Quick snapshot (name, education, job history, any other boards you sit on, etc.): James M. (“Jimmy”) Rusert, University of Georgia, A.B.J., summa cum laude in Broadcast News with a minor in Theatre (2006), University of Georgia, School of Law, J.D., cum laude (2010). I have practiced law with DLA […]

LIZ WHIPPLE | June 25, 2015 Working at AVLF is, at its heart, about making friends. The incredible people at the Fulton County Courthouse who have taken me in, thank you. To the smart and eager interns who have gone above and beyond and turned into friends, I can’t wait to see the wonderful things you […]

In 2013, Susan and her boyfriend, Juan, rented a home in South Fulton. A few months later, Susan was hospitalized, and Juan stayed with friends nearby so he could visit her frequently. When Susan was released, she and Juan returned to the home, only to discover that their landlord had turned off the water, changed the locks, and pawed through their belongings.

Please share your quick snapshot (name, education, job history, current position on board, etc.): Sarah Leopold Zampell, St. Lawrence University, B.A. with honors in history (2000); Emory University School of Law (2005); I was an associate with Holland & Knight, LLP for seven years and left the practice in 2012 to stay home with my children.  

How did you get involved with AVLF?  I first volunteered with AVLF in their Safe Families Office during law school as part of a public interest course. After that I was hooked and have volunteered ever since in a number of programs including in their One Child One Lawyer Program representing children in DFCS custody and in their Saturday Lawyers Program.

My client, Mary Jackson, and I stood in the hallway outside Fulton County Courtroom 1B – eviction court. Ms. Jackson rubbed her reddened eyes. She had just finished describing the conditions inside her rented home: a broken furnace that forced her and her children to huddle around space heaters; a non-functioning oven; uneven floors that dipped dangerously downward; holes in the doors that let the cold air in. She listed all of the times she called her landlord for help, only to be brushed off. The landlord listened placidly, his face unmoving. Finally he leaned in toward me. “It’s not,” he said with disdain, “like I’m a slumlord.”

The Washington Post recently published an article reporting that for the second year in a row, Atlanta has taken the title of the most unequal city in the United States. A new report by the Brookings Institute shows that the household incomes of the wealthiest households are close to 20 times the incomes of the most impoverished. In Atlanta, this means that the households in the 98^th percentile have incomes of more than $288,000 per year, while those in the 20^th percentile earn less than $15,000. This means the households that earn more than 98% of the other households in Atlanta make an average of $288,000 per year. These households earn more than 20 times the average yearly incomes of the poorest households.

Please share your quick snapshot (name, education, current and past jobs, etc.): Elizabeth Finn Johnson, Harvard University A.B. with honors in Government, University of Virginia Law School J.D. 1987; just retired as Senior Counsel, Employee Relations at The Coca-Cola Company, which I joined in 1990 as Litigation Counsel. Associate at Troutman Sanders 1987-1990.

How did you get involved with AVLF? My first introduction to AVLF was through the Winetasting when I was a young lawyer. In terms of work with AVLF, that started in 2001, after we formed our Pro Bono Committee at the Company and our first project was Wills on Wheels with AVLF. In addition, my husband was a longtime Saturday Lawyers volunteer.