For 45 years, Jacqueline Payne has been a powerful force in the legal profession—breaking barriers, building communities, and changing lives. As a young, Black, female attorney, she has been underestimated from the earliest beginnings of her career and had her…
Vanessa Kosky's volunteer work with Atlanta Legal Aid has profoundly impacted both the community and the clients she serves. Inspired by her own childhood experience of watching her mother struggle to find affordable legal representation, Vanessa promised herself that she…
In honor of Black History Month, we want to highlight some of our diverse and remarkable staff, including Michelle Jordan, Managing Attorney of Atlanta Legal Aid’s Fulton Family Law Unit. Michelle’s leadership and dedication have made a lasting impact on…
Nicholas Going, Principal Attorney at Honeywell, began volunteering with our Service Council during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His deep commitment to helping others led him to take on more pro bono cases, and he recognized Legal Aid as…
Nadine Lang has been a dedicated Housing Navigator at Atlanta Legal Aid for over 20 years, passionately working to assist individuals in saving their homes and preserving their equity. Her deep commitment to the well-being of her clients has driven…
At the beginning of her tenure with Legal Aid in August 2023, Rita Sheffey was approached by the Management Information Exchange (MIE), an organization for leaders in public interest management, to contribute an article reflecting on her experiences as a…
For women living in poverty, the prospect of leaving a domestic violence situation can be daunting. For mothers, the obstacles to leaving can be even greater. Women trying to leave violent home lives face financial manipulation in addition to physical…
Ms. Jones* reached out to us during that first summer of the pandemic. In March of 2020, multiple crises had converged to a breaking point for her family. As the virus counts rose and shut down orders went into place,…
Monica Graham-Clark (pictured) has held a handful of roles at Legal Aid over her 24 year tenure, but she currently works with our Health Law Unit as an outreach paralegal, and part-time as a domestic violence victims navigator in our…
Domestic violence is a society-wide issue that affects people of every race, class, and gender. With this in mind, we all have a responsibility to help stop domestic violence, especially considering the struggles that domestic violence victims face when trying…