Dawn R. Smith

Top Rated Family Law Attorney in Tucker, GA

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Smith & Files LLC

3554 Habersham at Northlake Rd, Building H, Tucker, GA 30084

Visit: http://www.smithlakelaw.com

Phone: 404-909-8300

Fax: 404-719-5960

Licensed Since: 1990

Education:Georgia State University College of Law

Practice Areas:

Family Law (80%)
Schools & Education (20%)

Q Attorney Profile

A co-founder of Smith & Lake, LLC, Dawn R. Smith focuses her practice primarily on family law. Located in Decatur, Georgia, she provides representation to residents throughout the greater Atlanta metropolitan area who are contemplating or going through a divorce and who thus need to deal with related matters such as the division of complex assets and debts, child support, alimony, and child custody and visitation. Ms. Smith has often been appointed as guardian ad litem for children in custody and other family law litigation, and she is a certified mediator and arbitrator.

Other family law matters that Ms. Smith has experience in include paternity disputes, fathers\' rights, adoptions, and the preparation and review of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. She also helps obtain protective orders for clients who have become the victim of domestic violence. In addition to family law, Ms. Smith has a background in special education, representing parents of disabled children in matters involving Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Her successful track record and high degree of ethics have earned her a 10.0 \"Superb\" peer-review rating from Avvo.

As an undergraduate, Ms. Smith attended North Carolina State University, where she majored in business administration and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. She then pursued her legal education at Georgia State University College of Law, where she was a member of the Georgia State University Law Review before being awarded her Juris Doctor cum laude in 1989. After graduation, Ms. Smith served a clerkship with a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia before entering private practice. She is a fellow of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Q More info

About Dawn Smith

Admitted: 1990, Georgia

Professional Webpage: https://www.smithlakelaw.com/dt_team/dawn-smith/

Honors/Awards:

Founder’s Award, Cool Girls Inc, 2014
Top 100 Super Lawyers in Georgia
Georgia Trend Legal Elite Top Lawyers, Georgia Trend Magazine
Volunteer of the Year , Atlanta Legal Aid Society, 2016
Super Lawyers® list of Top 50 Women in Georgia

Special Licenses/Certifications:

Certified Arbitrator and Mediator

Bar/Professional Activity:

Georgia Bar, Family Law Section, Member
Charles Weltner Inn of Court, Barrister
Atlanta and DeKalb County Bar Associations, Member
Board of Directors, Family Law Section, Atlanta Bar Association , 2016
Lawyers Club of Atlanta, Member
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Past President
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Member
American Bar Association, Family Law Section, Member
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Board of Director
President Board of Directors, DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation , 2019

Pro bono/Community Service:

Ethics & Professionalism Subcommittee of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia
Cool Girls, Inc., Founder
Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, Member
Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Deputy Director
Emmaus House, Advisory Board
Leadership Atlanta, Graduate
Autism Society of America, Board of the Greater Georgia Chapter

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Presenter, Guardian Ad Litem Training , Atlanta Bar Association, 2013
Georgia Psychological Association – Custody Evaluator Training – December 2009 – Lecturer
Program Chair and Lecturer, Guardian ad Litem Training, Atlanta Bar Association, 2010
Fulton County Superior Court, Family Division, Guardian ad Litem Training for GeorgiaAssociation of Black Female Lawyers – June 2007 – Program Chair and Lecturer
Presenter, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Lorman, 2003
10th Judicial Circuit, Guardian ad Litem Training – Program Chair and Lecturer – 2007,
Presenter, Special Education Law , National Business Institute, 2002
ICLE Georgia – School and College Law, Special Needs Trusts, Due Process Hearings, Administrative Law – Lecturer – 2005, 2004
Presenter, Bringing Georgia Special Education Law into Focus, MEDS/PDN, 2004
Marcus Institute – Update on IDEA – Lecturer- 2005
Presenter, IDEA Changes in a Nutshell, ICLE Georgia, 2005
Lorman Education Services – Asperger’s Syndrome, Family Education Rights and Privacy – Lecturer – 2003, 2005
Presenter , Compensatory Education , Council Of Parent Attorneys And Advocates, 2010
Fulton County Juvenile Court – Discipline and Special Needs – Lecturer – 2001
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates – Advanced Advocate Training, ADHD, Compensatory Servicers, Transition – Lecturer – 2003, 2005, 2008
Presenter , Family Law for the Low Income Client , Atlanta Bar Association, 2010
Trainer, New Attorney Training, 2012, 2013, Council Of Parent Attorneys And Advocates 2011
Presenter , Domestic Violence Law , Atlanta Bar Association, 2009
Writer, Guardian ad Litem Manual, 2010
Co-Author, Georgia School Law Manual , 2004
Program Chair and Lecturer , Guardian ad Litem Training , Atlanta Bar Association, 2009
Program Chair and Lecturer , Guardian ad Litem Training, Atlanta Bar Association, 2008
Program Chair and Lecturer, Guardian ad Litem Training , Atlanta Bar Association, 2007
Presenter, Guardian Ad Litem Training, Atlanta Bar Association, 2012
Presenter, Effective Use of Guardian ad Litems and the Emergence of Parenting Coodinators, Georgia Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2011
Speaker, Third Party Custody Actions , Georgia Superior Court Judges Winter Conference, 2017
Presenter, Fertile Ground: Cross Examination and Direct of Custody Evaluator , Family Law Section, Georgia Bar Association, 2013
Speaker, Sexual Abuse Allegations and Custody , Georgia Superior Court Judges Winter Conference, 2016
2014 Family Law Institute, Presenter, Special Needs/Special Education in Custody and Support Cases, Family Law Institute, 2014
Pro Bono March Madness 2014, Presenter, Volunteer Guardians ad Litem, Atlanta Bar Associaition, 2014
Georgia Superior Court Judges Summer Conference & Educational Sessions "Substance Abuse and Custody" July 27-30, 2015
Speaker, Substance Abuse and Parenting, Georgia Superior Court Judges Winter Conference, 2015
Speaker, Special Education and Custody, Georgia Superior Court Judges Summer Conference, 2015
Presenter, Substance Abuse and Parenting, Association Of Family And Conciliatory Courts Annual Conference, 2015
Tropical Seminar "Impact of Cheating and Drinking in Family Law, Does it Really Matter?" February 12-14, 2015
ICLE Special Needs Trust "Special Education Law Basics" February 11, 2015, State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, Atlanta
Council of Superior Court Judges 2015 Winter Conference “Special Needs, Special Education in Custody and Support” January 21, 2015, Athens, GA
Cobb County Bar Association – Guardian ad Litem Training – Ethics and the GAL – Lecturer – 2013
Georgia Bar Association, Family Law Section – Nuts and Bolts of Family Law – Lecturer – 2012
National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder - Legal Issues for Families – Lecturer – 2012