December DBA Family Law Section Breakfast Recap

At its Dec. 7 breakfast meeting, the Family Law Section had the pleasure of hearing a panel of four leaders who help ensure that victims of domestic violence get the legal help that they need to stay safe and break the cycle of violence. Honorable Judge Berryl A. Anderson, chief judge of the DeKalb County Magistrate Court, was the principal speaker. She was joined by Ayonna Johnson, director of legal services of the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, Toni Roberts, executive director of the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (DVLF), and Limia Obadi, domestic violence program manager of Tapestri. The panel discussed the TPO process in DeKalb County and what we all can and should be doing to end domestic violence.

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Holiday Party Recap

Enjoy these highlights from the annual holiday party. Our members and their plus-ones gathered in December at the Solarium at historic Scottish Rite. Thanks to our generous sponsors, delicious food and the fellowship of DBA members and friends, a wonderful…

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President’s Letter: Mentoring Starts with 1Ls – if the 1Ls Are Smart

By Darren Summerville
President, DeKalb Bar Association
summervillefirm.com

Last month I attended a late afternoon gathering at Emory Law School – the inaugural Bar Association Networking Fair. As might be deduced by the keen reader, the fair was designed to expose students to the wide spectrum of bar associations out there, and to emphasize early participation in networking opportunities.

Some two dozen organizations sent representatives; those lawyers spent a good couple of hours introducing themselves and their organizations to a crowd of Emory law students. The majority of the attendees were 1Ls – first year students who had started classes that very week.

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DBA Family Law Section Welcomes Speaker Mesha Ellis, PhD

Mesha Ellis, PhD, spoke at the Nov. 2 breakfast meeting of the DeKalb Bar Association Family Law Section, discussing child sex abuse allegations in the context of custody disputes. Dr. Ellis is a licensed clinical psychologist in Georgia, Tennessee, and California, and an AASECT certified sex therapist. With more than 15 years of postdoctoral experience, she has also co-authored several peer-reviewed publications. Her education is extensive and includes an M.A. in clinical psychology (marriage and family therapy emphasis) from Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The University of Alabama, an APA-accredited internship at the University of Chicago Hospitals, a forensic postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington (Child Study and Treatment Center) and sex therapy training at the Buehler Institute. Dr. Ellis’s presentation provided a daunting amount of in-depth information about custody evaluations involving sex abuse allegations.

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DeKalb Juvenile Justice Meet and Greet Event

The DeKalb County Juvenile Justice Council will be holding a meet and greet event at the DeKalb County Juvenile Court on Thursday, Jan. 11 from 3-5 pm. The DeKalb County Juvenile Justice Council, Inc. (DCJJC), is a new, independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to support the youth and family focused programs of the DeKalb County Juvenile Court and the community served by the court.

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