Victoria Powell, an associate in Jones Day's Business & Tort Litigation Practice in the Atlanta Office, has been appointed to the Georgia Lawyer Competency Task Force, which will study how the competency of Georgia lawyers should be assessed.
On Wednesday, March 24, Chief Justice Melton from the Supreme Court of Georgia announced he will sign an order creating the Georgia Lawyer Competency Task Force. The task force will be charged with evaluating current requirements for admission to practice law in Georgia, including taking and passing the bar exam, and it will evaluate alternatives to the bar exam. The task force also will evaluate mechanisms and alternatives for ensuring competency of experienced lawyers, including current Continuing Legal Education requirements. The task force will make initial recommendations to the Georgia Supreme Court by July 1, 2022.
Former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith R. Blackwell will chair the task force. Along with Ms. Powell and other lawyers in private practice, the task force includes:
- Sherry Boston, District Attorney, DeKalb County
- Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge, Dean, University of Georgia Law School, Athens
- Sterling A. Spainhour, General Counsel, Georgia Power Company, Atlanta
Ms. Powell focuses her practice on appellate and complex trial litigation. Her litigation experience includes products liability law, class actions, multidistrict litigation, and regulatory litigation against government entities. She has been a member of products liability trial teams and has argued cases in state appellate courts.