Mr. James B. Outman Related Seminars and Products

Hester Outman LLC

James B. Outman received his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management degree in 1967 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in November 1971 after receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.

Jim began the private practice of law in with the firm of Nall Miller & Cadenhead, where he became a partner before leaving that firm in 1977 to become a partner with Hurt Richardson Garner Todd & Cadenhead. In 1979, he left private practice for a position in the General Counsel's office of Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and in 1986, he was promoted into management with Georgia-Pacific. In November 2000, he retired after 21 years with Georgia-Pacific and returned to private practice with a focus on adoption law.

In November 2000, Jim joined Ruth Claiborne and Lori Surmay in the firm of Claiborne Outman & Surmay PC and he retired from that firm in March 2010. In 2014, Jim joined Jerry and Justin Hester as of counsel with the new firm of Hester Outman LLC.

Jim and his wife, Mary Jane, adopted their late son in 1973 and that was the beginning of Jim's emphasis and expertise in adoption law. Jim has been the principal author of every piece of adoption legislation in Georgia since 1975, including the Adoption Act of 1977, which first introduced statutory forms and recognized the rights of the biological father of the adoptee. While working with Georgia-Pacific, Jim was responsible for the drafting of the 1990 re-codification of Georgia's Adoption Code which had theretofore been the result of many amendments to an adoption law enacted in 1941. Jim was responsible for the legislation that, beginning in January 1998, utilizes Georgia's Putative Father Registry to provide notice to biological fathers of children who are involved in adoption and dependency proceedings.

Jim served as the principal author of the GCAL proposal that eventually became HB 159 and he and his GCAL colleagues spent over three years drafting, presenting, and advocating for the passage of H.B. 159 in the 2018 Session of the Georgia General Assembly. It was a comprehensive revision of Georgia’s Adoption Code which had been amended a total of 28 times since 1990. Jim served as the principal author of the GCAL proposal that became HB 154 that passed in the 2021 Session of the General Assembly and became effective July 1, 2021, which made several technical corrections to the recodification that passed in 2018.

November 2024 Jim has presented at all of the Adoption Law & Practice Seminars sponsored by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) since 1993 and  served as the Chair from 1995 to 2023. He has also presented on adoption law to both the Superior Court Judges of the Seminars and the Law Clerk/Staff Attorney Seminars sponsored by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education (ICJE) a total of 20 times since 1990.

Jim has participated in over 40 appellate cases, including the submission of 12 amicus briefs.

In 2002, Jim was invited to be an Adoption Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA), which changed its name in 2018 to the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys; in 2020, Jim became an Honorary Adoption Fellow of AAAA.

In 2003, Jim was honored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute as an "Angel in Adoption."

In 2010, he became a founding Fellow of the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers (GCAL) and serves as Co-Chair of its advocacy committee; in 2021, Jim became an Emeritus Fellow in GCAL.

In 2016, Jim received the Outstanding Service to the Stonewall Community Award for his pro bono work on behalf of E.L. in filing amicus briefs on behalf of both AAAA and GCAL in the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, the Supreme Court of Alabama, and the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of E.L. v. V.L.

In May 2019, Jim was recognized as the 2019 Fellow of Distinction by the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) at its 30th annual conference held in Seattle, WA.

In November 2024, Jim will celebrate his 53rd anniversary as a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

Mr. Justin Young Hester Related Seminars and Products

Program Co-Chair

Hester Outman LLC

Practice Areas:
Adoption
Divorce and Family Law
General Civil Litigation
Business Litigation
Personal Injury
Products Liability
Torts Law.

Admitted:
2000

Law School:
University of Georgia, J.D., 2000

College:
University of Georgia, B.S., 1997

Member
Member of Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers (GCAL) Since 2010
Georgia Assoc. of Licensed Adoption Attorneys
Associate Member of the Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies (GALAA)

Biography
Attorney Justin Y. Hester practices law with the firm of Hester Outman, LLC, in Norcross, Georgia. For the past 17 years Justin has represented clients in all aspects of the adoption and reproductive technology practice. Justin is a sought-after speaker on adoption law at numerous seminars and forums; he has served as a faculty member of the annual “Adoption Law and Practice” seminars sponsored by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia since 2012. Justin devotes substantial energy and passion to his adoption and reproductive technology work. He enjoys educating clients about their numerous family-building options and then working together with them to develop a plan tailor-made for their situation.

Justin is highly respected and well-liked within many diverse groups and communities. He has assisted in the adoption of at least 600 children in his 17 years of practice. In addition, Justin has served as appellate counsel on behalf of clients in multiple cases before the Georgia Court of Appeals involving complex adoption issues. He has always had great compassion for couples wishing to adopt and relates well to children.

Justin Y. Hester received his undergraduate degree in 1997 from the University of Georgia in Forestry. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2000, also from the University of Georgia. He was a founding Fellow in the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers, has served on the Board of Directors of that organization and is currently serving as its President Elect. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The Summit Counseling Center, which provides professional counseling, consultation and educational services to families throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area. He received the United States Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s “Angels in Adoption” Award in 2017.

Justin is a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2000 and is admitted to practice in all levels of state and federal courts in Georgia.

Philip McCarthy Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Magnum, Wall, Stoops & Warden, PLLC

Philip “Jay” McCarthy, Jr. is an attorney at Mangum, Wall, Stoops & Warden, P.L.L.C. He is admitted to practice law in the states of Arizona, Nebraska, Missouri, and Alaska. He is also admitted to practice in the Navajo Nation, White Mountain Apache, Yavapai-Apache, and Hopi Tribal Courts.

Since 1976, Jay has been involved in programs to assist victims of domestic violence. Prior to law school, Jay worked on the Omaha Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women and was responsible for coordinating community efforts to establish a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Later, while living in Anchorage, Alaska, he served on the Board of Directors of the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, Inc. (AWAIC).

Since moving to Flagstaff in 1991, Jay has served on the Board of Directors of the Northland Family Help Center, which provides shelter and counseling for victims of domestic violence. Prior to law school, Jay served as a Vista volunteer and also worked as an instructor in a 42-day wilderness program for juvenile delinquents from St. Louis, Chicago, and East St. Louis.

Upon graduating from Creighton University Law School in 1980, Mr. McCarthy served as a staff attorney with Southwest Missouri Legal Services. In 1985, Mr. McCarthy joined the newly formed State of Alaska, Office of Public Advocacy, where he later served as Deputy Director. Mr. McCarthy represented the Alaska Office of Public Advocacy and the National Association of Counsel for Children and the National CASA Association before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Maryland v. Craig regarding the constitutionality of child witness protection laws.

In 2013, Mr. McCarthy represented the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys before the U.S. Supreme Court in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, ca case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Mr. McCarthy is a member of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, National Association of Counsel for Children and the North American Counsel on Adoptable Children. He is the recipient of the American Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division 2000 Child Advocacy Law Award. Mr. McCarthy is also the recipient of the Arizona Bar Association 1996 Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney Award. In 2005, he received an Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for his commitment to the protection of children and knowledge of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Jay has also been recognized by the DNA People’s Legal Services for his pro bono service. In 2010, he received recognition for his pro bono legal work from the national Legal Services Corporation. Jay was also awarded the Congressional Angels in Adoption Award in October 2013. Also in 2013, Mr. McCarthy was the recipient of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, Family Protection Attorney of the Year, Yavapai County. In 2015, Mr. McCarthy received the Adoption Service Award from the Florida Adoption Council. In 2022, Mr. McCarthy received the Arizona Supreme Court Pro Bono Attorney award.

ADMISSIONS

• Arizona
• Nebraska
• Missouri
• Alaska

OTHER ADMISSIONS

• Navajo Nation
• White Mountain Apache
• Yavapai-Apache
• Hopi Tribal Courts

EDUCATION

• Creighton University Law School, 1980 J.D.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Adoption
• Family
• Divorce
• Child Custody
• Child Support

MEMBERSHIPS

• Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
• National Association of Counsel for Children
• North American Council on Adoptable Children

Ms. Judy F. Davenport Sartain Related Seminars and Products

Stearns-Montgomery & Proctor

Judy Sartain was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1995 and presently has over 28 years of experience in and a passion for adoption cases of all types -- foreign, contested, same-sex couple, agency, relative and stepparent, third party independent, DFCS, and interstate (ICPC). She has finalized approximately 900 or so adoptions, including many contested adoptions in her career. Judy is a Fellow with the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys as well as a Fellow with the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers. She is a 2023 recipient of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute honor as an “Angel in Adoption”, joining several of her GCAL colleagues as fellow “Angels”.  At the urging of her late husband, Judy wrote and published a short handbook entitled “A Beginner’s Guide to Georgia Adoption Law” which was written with the adoptive parent and the general practitioner in mind.  The handbook was never intended to be an exhaustive reference book on the subject of adoption; that task is up James B. Outman!  It includes the updates to the code through July, 2020, and is available by request.  Her second book with a working title of “The Adventures of a Traveling Adoption Attorney” is in process and will tell some of the intriguing stories she has encountered in her years practicing adoption law. 

Judy can be reached at (770) 426-1148 or at jsartain@stearns-law.com.  She has been with the firm of Stearns-Montgomery & Proctor since 2019 and is a Partner with the firm.

Judy has five children, two of whom are adopted.  She has lived in Georgia since 1981 and in Gainesville on Lake Lanier since 1994. She enjoys boating and traveling, especially to Destin, Florida and Jekyll Island, Georgia. An avid Georgia Bulldogs football fan, she admits to even barking on occasion.

Ms. Sherriann Henderson Hicks Related Seminars and Products

The Hicks Law Group

Sherriann H. Hicks, of The Hicks Law Group, focuses her legal career on adoption and surrogacy. Sherriann was admitted to practice law in 1995 and she has been an Adoption Fellow in the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys since 2006. Sherriann has served on the Board of the Academy and as Deputy Adoption Director.  She is currently President Elect.  Sherriann is a Past President and founding Fellow of the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers and a Past President of the Gwinnett County Bar Association.  

Sherriann specializes in adoptions and surrogacy, and she has handled hundreds of adoptions over her nearly 25 years as a member of the State Bar of Georgia.  She represents adoptive parents, relatives, stepparents, and foster parents seeking to expand their family through adoption.  She also works with gestational carriers and intended parents who are building their families through assisted reproduction.

Sherriann was involved in drafting and advocating for the passage of adoption legislation which went into effect September 1, 2018, which completely revised for the better Article 1 of Title 19, the Adoption Code.

Sherriann litigates contested adoptions throughout the State of Georgia.  Sherriann also serves as Guardian ad litem for the Superior Court Judges in Gwinnett County regularly. 

Hon. Christopher Samuel Brasher Related Seminars and Products

Fulton County Superior Court

Former Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County when he retired from the bench in late 2022, Chris Brasher served on Georgia’s busiest trial court for nearly seventeen years. During his time on the Superior Court bench, Judge Brasher presided over more than 20,000 cases, ranging from commercial disputes involving hundreds of millions of dollars, to catastrophic injury cases, to professional negligence and malpractice cases, to high-asset divorce cases, to complex and vexing custody matters, to capital murder and other violent felony cases. As a lawyer prior to his service on the bench, Judge Brasher tried cases in more than 130 counties in Georgia, as well as in all of Georgia’s Federal District Courts. As an appellate advocate, Judge Brasher argued more than forty cases in appellate courts, including before Georgia’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, as well as in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and in the United States Supreme Court. Judge Brasher has more than 70 reported decisions as lead appellate counsel.

On the bench, Judge Brasher earned a reputation as a hard-working, efficient, and effective jurist who was always prepared, patient, and fair. Judge Brasher’s court was known to be a place where disputes were resolved in an efficient way, where parties and counsel would be heard, and where professionalism and respect were expected and practiced.

As a colleague and in the community, Judge Brasher has served in leadership roles in local, county, and statewide organizations. Teaching and mentoring have always been a part of Judge Brasher’s efforts to equip others in their professional, academic, and personal lives. As a veteran trial judge with over two hundred jury trials, Judge Brasher knows what works and what does not before a jury. As a trained and certified mediator, Judge Brasher has honed the skills needed to assist in resolving disputes.