Athens Family Lawyers

A life-long resident of Athens, Georgia, Samuel E. Thomas is a 2010 graduate of the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Political Science. He is also a 2012 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa. He was admitted into the practice of law in June of 2013. Samuel E. Thomas is a fourth-generation small business owner in the Athens, Georgia area. He is admitted to all State and Superior Courts throughout the state of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, and the Supreme Court of Georgia. Samuel E. Thomas is the current Chair of...

I am a founding partner of Meriwether & Tharp LLC, where we have been helping clients through difficult times for over 20 years. In my current role as a managing partner, I can assist more clients through our team of over thirty divorce attorneys in Georgia. We know that obtaining a divorce can be a difficult process. Not only do you have to navigate the legal complications surrounding equitable division, child support, alimony, and child custody, but you also have to deal with the emotional toll a divorce places on you and your family. Many of you have...

Solving your legal problems without judgment. I help people obtain favorable results through some of the most difficult times of their lives.

I have been representing persons accused or suspected of criminal wrongdoing since 2010. I have been featured in television news stories with Randy Travis’ Fox 5 Atlanta I-Team Investigations, and CBS-46 investigations into the Walton County Sheriff’s Department corruption and drug investigations. I am a guest lecturer for the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Gwinnett County Bar Association.

I have spent 22 years in the courtroom both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. ...

Austin Joseph is an associate attorney at Meriwether & Tharp. He is originally from Waycross, Georgia. In 2018, Austin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with a degree in Entertainment and Media Studies. There, Austin served as the Vice President of Membership for the Student Alumni Council and an Ambassador for the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Austin earned the title of "Double Dawg" after he graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2021. While in law school, he served as the Executive Notes Editor for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law. His...

Robert Goff is an Attorney with Meriwether & Tharp, LLC and practices family law. Robert has focused on client satisfaction in domestic litigation since his entry to the Georgia Bar in 2015. Since moving to Athens in 2012, Robert has rooted down in the Classic City. He has litigated divorce, custody, and related matters throughout the Athens-Clarke County metro area (Clarke, Oconee, Madison, and Oglethorpe), as well as Barrow, Jackson, and Walton Counties. Robert earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2015. Robert interned with the Honorable David Sweat in the Superior Court of Athens-Clarke...

Offering affordable and effective representation for your divorce, adoption, education, personal injury, or worker's compensation matter.

Jeffrey Jackson is the managing partner of The Jackson Law Firm located in Athens, Georgia. The Jackson Law Firm specializes in criminal defense, personal injury and family law.

Jeffrey Jackson is very experienced with navigating the Courts and will expertly provide you with assistance and advice as your case proceeds through the Court.

Gabriel Bradford, a former member of the Sarasota County Fire Department, is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia. While in law school, Gabe served on the School of Law’s Honor Court. Prior to joining the firm as a partner, Mr. Bradford served as an assistant district attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, which includes Banks, Barrow, and Jackson Counties. As an assistant district attorney, Gabe received trial training from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia and developed an expertise in domestic violence. Today,...

A native Georgian, I am the oldest of four siblings. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Georgia, I enrolled in the UGA School of Law and graduated in the spring of 2001. The first six years of my legal career were spent in the courtroom working as an Assistant District Attorney. Since then I have continued a litigation-oriented practice focusing on family law and criminal defense.

Born in Toccoa, I have been a Georgian all of my life. I received a Debate Scholarship to the University of Georgia. I was an active participant on the University of Georgia Debate Team throughout my undergrad years, and I became the Captain of the debate team my Junior and Senior years. I received my B.A. from the University of Georgia graduating with honors in 1970. After receiving my bachelor's degree, I enrolled in the University of Georgia School of Law and received my J.D. in 1973. While in law school, I...

I am currently accepting divorce cases and handling auto accident and personal bankruptcy cases statewide. My firm is recognized for our aggressive representation, meticulous preparation, and fair, flat fees. As a potential client, you can be confident in my extensive experience and dedication to your case, ensuring that you receive the personal attention your case demands. With over 24 years of practice, I am well-regarded by both opposing attorneys and judges. Please be aware that I do not handle family law cases involving DFCS. I maintain a very low caseload, which allows me to handle only one trial matter at a time....

Attorney Tony A. Taylor is a founding partner at Daniels & Taylor, P.C. where he practices in family law with a focus on divorce and custody law. He leads a team of several other attorneys and mentors each attorney twice a month behind the scenes to discuss each and every client of the firm. While you may not see Tony on your billing statement, you are getting the benefit of his decades of experience, no matter which of the firm's attorneys leads your case. Over the years, Tony has taught numerous classes and seminars on a variety of legal topics, including...

Trinity Hundredmark heads the domestic relations division for Andersen, Tate, & Carr, P.C., while also working within the criminal practice division. She is considered a leader in the southeast in both family and criminal law related matters, and can often be seen in the news media, offering her legal insight on cases in the National spotlight.

Trinity leaves no room for error in her criminal law practice, ensuring the best possible outcome for her clients. She has attained certifications in Georgia for both DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, and is considered by her peers to be a true trial...

Attorney Sharon Jackson is an experienced legal advocate who can help you with all of your Georgia family law needs including divorce, legitimation, and child custody. We also handle prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, equitable caregiver cases, adoption, alimony, equitable division of assets and debts, and grandparents' rights. With over 19 years of experience, she is skilled in the courtroom and the pre-litigation process, which is one of the most important phases in family law cases. We have brought or defended over a thousand cases and are ready to help you. We have the expertise needed to handle...

As a child, my generation's default answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was often a doctor or lawyer. I initially settled on being a doctor, though I had never met one and hated math and blood. By the end of my freshman year at Georgia Southern University, I abandoned pre-med for an undeclared major, unsure of my path. After seeking God’s guidance during my sophomore year, I received a call from a family friend who suggested I become a lawyer—a notion I initially resisted. However, through prayer, I felt a calling to pursue law. Starting...

Peter J. Wosnik is a talented trial lawyer who has defended people in hundreds of felony and misdemeanor criminal cases throughout Georgia. He has taken multiple cases to trial and has achieved not-guilty verdicts for charges such as drug trafficking and possession, battery, and criminal trespass. Pete tried his first felony case before getting his bar results and achieved not-guilty verdicts on both charges for his client. In addition to acquittals, he has helped clients receive dismissals in charges of aggravated assault, child cruelty, robbery, burglary, criminal damage to property, theft by taking, and more. Beyond success in criminal cases, Pete...

EXPERIENCE: For nearly 13 years, I have focused on representing clients in a variety of complex cases involving immigration law, criminal defense and family law. I have successfully helped thousands of clients over the years with extremely difficult cases.

RESULTS DRIVEN: Our goal is always to get you the best result possible. We don't make guarantees of a particular outcome, but what we do guarantee is that we will aggressively pursue every legal avenue possible as we fight for you.

OUR DIFFERENCE: I take pride in every person that entrusts me with their legal matter. For that...

I was born and raised in the Island of Jamaica. I moved to the United States at sixteen years old and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Miami where I was on the Provost Honor Roll. I received my Juris Doctorate from Jacob D. Fuchsberg, Touro Law School in 2000 and passed the bar in the same year. I was an Editor on the International Law Review Journal, where I published "Organ Donation and Incompetents, can they consent? Comparative Analysis of American and Canadian Laws of Consent and brain death determination." Touro International L.R. Vol...

Rebekah A. James serves as an Attorney with Meriwether & Tharp, LLC. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of West Georgia and earned her Juris Doctorate at the University of Georgia School of Law. During her undergraduate career, Rebekah maintained the HOPE Scholarship, was a member of both the University of West Georgia Honors College and Sigma Kappa sorority, and volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). In law school, Rebekah worked as a Student Practitioner at the Wilbanks Child Endangerment & Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Clinic for two semesters and one semester at...

My focus in representing clients, is to help clients realize the best future for their families. The things that have happened in the past, and that brought you to my office, are important and are important for me to know and understand. However, throughout representation I am going to keep you focused on realizing your best future, and not focusing on the past. I have personally been involved with most types of family law cases. I am divorced, and I have remarried. My husband and I each have children with prior spouses, and have had...

State Bar of Georgia, 1980 Member: State Bar of Georgia (Family Law, Fiduciary Law sections) Gwinnett County Bar Association (Family Law and Elder Law sections) Education: University of Georgia School of Law (J.D., 1980) University of Georgia (B.A., magna cum laude, 1976); Phi Beta Kappa Publications: Domestic Relations, Annual Survey of Georgia Law, 1979-1980, 32 Mercer Law Review 51 (1980). Domestic Relations, Annual Survey of Georgia Law, 1980-1981, 33 Mercer Law Review 109 (1981).

As an athlete for 20 years, Mike recognizes the benefits of hard work, proper training and being prepared for the competition. Today, these traits help him achieve winning results for his clients. A graduate of the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, Mike has litigated in a diverse range of law throughout Georgia and has appeared as lead trial counsel in 47 Georgia counties. Mike has served as co-counsel with some of Atlanta's largest firms, and he has also represented family members of some of the best known attorneys in the country. ...

Crystal Wright is a Lawrenceville family law attorney with the experience, depth of knowledge, and compassion clients need when they’re fighting to do what’s best for their families. As the founding partner of Crystal Wright Law she provides unparalleled legal representation to clients in family law disputes involving divorce, child custody, child support and alimony, property division, paternity, and more. Throughout her legal career, which spans more than eight years, she’s also served as an advocate for clients looking to expand their families through adoption. There is not a law firm in Lawrenceville, Georgia better equipped to handle every aspect of...

Esther Vayman is a native of Alpharetta, Georgia and a graduate of Milton High School in 1995. In 1999, Ms. Vayman received her B.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and her J.D. from the Georgia State University College of Law in 2005.

A native of Siberia, Russia, Dina Khismatulina is an LLM graduate of Emory University School of Law. She earned her first law degree in 1999 from Tomsk State University, one of the top law schools in Russia. After graduation, Dina worked as an in-house counsel for an Internet mass media company in Siberia. From 1999 to 2002 she worked as in-house counsel for one of the subsidiaries of Gazprom JSC, the top natural gas producer in Russia and one of the largest companies in the world, where she focused on contract, corporate, and antitrust matters. Prior to moving to the U.S.,...

Tyler Carey grew up in Athens, Ohio and moved to Augusta, Georgia for college where he attended and graduated from Augusta University. During his undergraduate studies, Tyler was a member of the Student Conduct Board, as well as awarded the Who’s Who Among American College Students from Universities. After Augusta University, Tyler moved to Loganville to attend Emory University’s School of Law.

During Tyler's first year of law school, he interned for Bryan Frost which sparked his desire to help those overwhelmed by the legal system.

During his time at Emory, Tyler helped write am amicus curie brief to the United States...

Ms. Johnson is originally from Jacksonville, Florida. She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology from the University of North Florida in 2012, and a law degree from Howard University School of Law in 2017. During her time in law school, Ms. Johnson was the Co-Captain and Business Manager of the Charles Hamilton Houston National Moot Court Team, President of the Education Law Society, and the Founder and Coach of a debate team at Francis Scott Key Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland. Since beginning her legal career, Ms. Johnson has litigated education, child welfare, and family law cases....

Melissa L. Bowman is a Partner with Meriwether & Tharp, LLC and works primarily out of the firm's Johns Creek office. Melissa was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 2016 and has focused solely on family law. She strives to provide exceptional counsel and support to clients throughout Atlanta and surrounding areas who are going through a divorce or have some other serious legal issue affecting their families. Melissa understands that the divorce process is challenging and emotional, and is passionate about helping her clients move through the process with confidence and understanding. Melissa delivers the highest level of representation possible...

I graduated summa cum laude from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice before relocating to Norman, Oklahoma to attend school at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. I began my legal career as a volunteer at the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office in 2010, and in 2011, I became licensed as an intern and immediately practiced in the courtroom. I received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and became licensed to practice law in the State of Oklahoma in 2012. After law school, I continued with the DA's Office...

Alexa Dato is an associate attorney with Meriwether & Tharp, LLC. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and Political Science as well as a master's degree in Public Administration. At Alabama, Alexa gave tours of the university as a member of Capstone Men & Women, and she served as Personnel Chair of Chi Omega sorority. Following her family's move from Memphis, TN to Alpharetta, GA, Alexa attended law school at the University of Georgia. Alexa became interested in working with families after spending three semesters with UGA Law's Family...

I have personal and professional experience with the aftermath of divorce, and family violence. People are much more likely to hurt those whom they love than to hurt a stranger on the street. It is love that that stirs up into passion and sometimes erupts. I have found that time tends to cool down emotions. Often, people who love one another eventually forgive one another. Other times, splitting up is the only path to find peace.
I'm not here to judge you for who you decided to love. I'm here...

Jason Karasik is a Partner with Meriwether & Tharp, LLC. Jason obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in 2008. After graduating from the University of Georgia, he began work as a policy fellow for Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Jason worked with the House Education Committee and the Senate Education and Youth Committee while doing education policy research. Additionally, he worked closely with the Governor's Policy Director in providing solutions for Georgia's education issues. Jason obtained his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. While in law school, he received the Dean's Scholarship and was an Executive...

I am Ryan R. Shafer, a partner at Meriwether & Tharp, LLC. Before joining this firm, I gained considerable experience in family law litigation as an associate attorney at Ferguson Law Firm, P.C. in Jonesboro, Georgia. My litigation experience spans across divorce, modification, child support, legitimation, and contempt cases in various counties including Fulton, Clayton, Henry, Fayette, and Spalding. I was born and raised in Florence, New Jersey. In 2008, I graduated from La Salle University with a degree in Mathematics and later earned my law degree from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School in 2013. During my first year of law...

Megan graduated in the top quarter of her class from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School in 2013. Upon graduating, she received awards for pro bono service and the honor of the AJMLS Excellence in Appellate Advocacy Award. Megan's past legal work includes family law representation, traffic and criminal court representation, and insurance defense. As a family law attorney, Megan handled matters as simple as uncontested divorces and name changes through more complex litigation such as grandparent custody cases. As a public defender for the City of Atlanta, Megan handled hundreds of cases working with people cited for traffic offenses, criminal offenses,...