Adoption Law

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.

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.

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. 

Ms. Josie Redwine Related Seminars and Products

Josie Redwine PC

Ms. Jessica Lynne Gordon Related Seminars and Products

The Law Office of Jessica L. Gordon LLC

Jessica Gordon is the managing attorney at The Law Office of Jessica L. Gordon, LLC. Jessica is a founding member and a former president of the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers, is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and is a Fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. Jessica is currently serving on the Georgia Bar Children and the Courts Committee. Jessica received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and then Clerked on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Following her clerkship, Jessica taught at Emory University Law School as a Post-Graduate Fellow through the Barton Fellowship Program. Jessica specializes in child-related immigration matters, adoption law, and assisted reproduction technology law.