We are thrilled to announce that Libby King is AVLF's new Development Director. (Don't worry - Carey Kersten hasn't gone anywhere. She just slid into the Marketing Director role.) Libby is originally from Columbus, GA, and has served the Atlanta community for almost 17 years. Previously, she was Director of Institutional Advancement at Atlanta Technical College. Prior to this, she raised funds for ovarian cancer research and served in fundraising and community outreach roles at Visiting Nurse|Hospice Atlanta. She was a communications assistant in the Office of Governor Roy E. Barnes after graduating from Clemson University with a B.A. in Political Science.

AVLF offers a huge thank you to Jones Day attorneys Meredith Kincaid and Will Rooks. On November 23, 2015, the two represented a domestic violence client in her hearing to extend her 30-day protective order for 12 months. They hit a lot of bumps along the way on the day of the hearing, including learning that the judge would not accept consent orders without both parties being represented (the respondent was not represented), having to delve deeper into the family law arena when the judge asked them to prepare a parenting plan modifying the extremely flexible plan the parties had mediated (without attorneys) in their prior divorce, finally completing the stricter parenting plan to find that the court had adjourned for the day and they were locked out of the courtroom, making multiple visits to a family division judge to have the final order and parenting plan signed, and e-filing the final order themselves, since the domestic violence courtroom clerk was no longer available to them. Whew!

After nine long hours in court and a comedy of roadblocks along the way, these two dedicated attorneys walked out with a victorious client who not only obtained a much-needed 12-month protective order, but also a parenting plan that was much clearer and better suited for her. Well done, Meredith and Will, and thank you!