Kerry Ashley Nicholson | Cobb Circuit, Post 6

Candidate Statement

Hi! I’m Kerry Nicholson, and I’m running for the State Bar Board of Governors, Cobb Circuit, Post 6. I have been involved in the State Bar for 12 of my 14 years of legal practice. As a public interest lawyer, I initially joined the YLD’s Public Interest Internship Program (PIIP) Committee to help law students and recent law school graduates obtain funding for their summer internships in the public sector. In 2014, I became the co-chair of the PIIP Committee; I revolutionized how we evaluated applications and started the annual awards ceremony for the grant recipients. In 2015, I was accepted into the YLD’s Leadership Academy. My involvement in the YLD led to me being appointed to the Board of Directors of four YLD presidents. When I aged out of the YLD, I continued my Bar involvement when I was appointed to the Georgia Bar Journal Editorial Board in 2021.

I have dedicated the majority of my legal career to the State Bar. Now, it is time to give back to my local legal community through the State Bar. As a member of the Board of Governors, I will develop and enhance policies that will improve the overall success of Cobb County lawyers. If elected, I will be your voice at the Bar. I will be accessible and will relay the concerns of Cobb County attorneys to the Board. Moreover, I will regularly provide Cobb County attorneys with Bar updates. Particularly, I plan to work on increasing the participation of Cobb County attorneys in the State Bar, in part, by lowering the cost of Bar meetings and creating a financial-assistance program for public interest attorneys, solo practitioners and small firm attorneys to attend Bar meetings.

I would be honored to represent you on the Board of Governors.

Education

• Mercer University (2007)
• Tulane University School of Law (2010)

Personal/Family

• Place of Residence: Cumberland
• Personal Interests: Recreational tennis, volunteering, professional sports, international travel, concerts, speakeasies and brunch
• Non-Legal Organization: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Professional Background, Bar Activities, Civic Activities

• Legal Specialty: Trademark Law
• Work History Highlights
  • Trademark and copyright associate, Cantor Colburn LLP, July 2023–May 2024
  • Trademark examining attorney, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), May 2018–July 2023
  • Attorney advisor, Social Security Administration ODAR, September 2012–May 2018
  • Personal injury and Social Security disability attorney, Foy & Associates, P.C., January 2012–August 2012
• State Bar of Georgia
  • Editorial Board member, Georgia Bar Journal (July 2021–present)
  • Board of Directors, Young Lawyers Division (July 2018–June 2022)
  • Co-chair, Public Interest Internship Program, Young Lawyers Division (July 2014–June 2017)
  • Graduate, Leadership Academy, Young Lawyers Division (2015)
  • Member, Intellectual Property Law Section
  • Member, Entertainment and Sports Law Section
• Other Bar Associations
  • YLD scholar, American Bar Association (2017)
  • Member, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA)
  • Member, Gate City Bar Association

Main Issues Facing the State Bar/Position

A main issue facing the State Bar is participation. Only a small percentage of Georgia attorneys are active in the Bar due to a variety of reasons. One major reason is the cost of attending Bar meetings. Public interest attorneys, solo practitioners and small firm attorneys do not have large firms to pay for them to attend meetings. I plan to work on lowering the cost of Bar meetings and creating a financial-assistance program for attorneys to attend Bar meetings.