The New Lawyers Division for a “lunch & learn” with Cobb County State Court Judge Maria Golick and Forsyth County State Court Judge Russell McClelland was presented as a great opportunity for Georgia attorneys and fellow NLD members to learn valuable tips from a local trial judge.
The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) was originally founded in 1956; the organization is dedicated to both strengthening and upholding Georgia’s civil justice system and it accomplishes this by adamantly protecting the rights of Georgia citizens and consumers.
The GTLA works tirelessly within the legislative, political and media sectors in order to ensure that Georgians are educated and informed on their rights to justice and to make sure that these rights are safeguarded and protected.
In these modern times, the GTLA believes that powerful interests such as drug companies and large corporations are putting Americans and small businesses at risk by producing dangerous products, by refusing to pay and delaying insurance claims and by polluting the environment among other unscrupulous practices. These same interests also dominate the political process and thereby demand that the nation restricts citizens’ access to courts; the GTLA says these restrictions are unjust.
The GTLA states that trial lawyers are the guardians of the civil justice system and citizens’ inalienable rights; therefore, the organization is committed to protecting the rights of each citizen and ensuring they seek justice. In essence, trial lawyers are here to represent the average person who seeks fairness and justice from our civil justice system. As a proud member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, attorney M. Chase Swanson jumped at the opportunity to listen to the wisdom and tips provided by Judge Golick, Judge McClelland and Solicitor General Leslie Abernathy.
One of the speakers was Solicitor General of Forsyth County, Leslie Abernathy, who is one of Georgia’s most successful prosecutors. As one of the most dedicated prosecutors, she has built a professional team that has prosecuted over 150,000 cases over the last 15 years alone. As the current Vice Chair for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, she makes training new prosecutors a priority and teaches law enforcement for the Sheriff’s office and for the city police.
Another one of the speakers was Judge Russ McClelland, who has served the citizens of Forsyth County as Georgia’s State Court Judge since his appointment by Governor Sonny Perdue back in 2003. Since his initial appointment, he has been re-elected twice by the loyal voters of Forsyth County.
Attorney Chase M. Swanson is a Marietta personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of Andrew W. Jones. A Marietta native, he earned his undergraduate degree from Mercer University where he graduated cum laude in 2007. From there he went on to earn his juris doctorate from Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law. Chase is a member of the Georgia Bar Association, the Cobb County Bar Association, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Bar Association. To contact the Law Offices of Andrew W. Jones regarding your personal injury matter, please call (770) 427-5498 or go online at http://www.awjoneslaw.com.
