I am excited for the year ahead, and the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees for LRIS. I have been a member of the Board for almost 4 years. 

I want to extend a special gratitude to the LRIS Board members whose term ended May 31, 2022: Christina M. Baugh, Misty Gann and Kyle Jarzmik. Your work on the Board was greatly appreciated. I would like to give a warm welcome to the new LRIS Board members, who will be serving 2 consecutive years on the Board: Hon. Judge Kimberly K. Anderson and Mark R. Elliott.  I look forward to working with each of you, along with the Board members continuing their terms.

This year, I hope to work with the Board to increase panel retention for the Modest Means program, especially for family law cases. This is an area of dire need as it represents the majority of the calls that LRIS receives.  As a member of the Modest Means Panel, an attorney is able to provide a vital service while retaining potential new clients for their practice.

I encourage current LRIS panel attorneys to renew their Atlanta Bar Association LRIS membership to continue to receive the many benefits of being a member, i.e.  pre-screened potential clients, increased client database, etc.

One of the important functions of LRIS is to provide support for nonprofit agencies in the area that work with indigent members of the public to provide them legal resources.  As an attorney with Atlanta Legal Aid, I was happy that even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic LRIS was able to contribute to the Grants Program in 2021.The LRIS contribution was $195,545, which benefitted several pro bono programs. The Grant Award Recipients were Atlanta Bar M&DCP, Atlanta Bar SLIP, Atlanta Legal Aid, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation, GAIN, Truancy Intervention Project, Georgia Innocence Project, Georgia Justice Project, Gideon’s Promise, Latin American Association and Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. The LRIS program was able to support these non-profit organizations because of you. Thank you!