Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) Professor Elizabeth Jaffe has hosted an impressive lineup of guest speakers in her Pretrial Practice & Procedure and Domestic Relations classes this month. In addition to covering essential topics in courtroom procedure, ethics, and family law practice, these sessions offered students the opportunity to hear directly from professionals in the legal field. Professor Jaffe, an associate professor whose scholarship focuses on social‐media liability and cyberbullying, brings both practical experience and research into the classroom. Her extensive tenure at AJMLS (since 2006) and prior practice in family law and business litigation give students the benefit of instruction informed by both academia and real‐world practice.
Chief Judge Scott Smith
Chief Judge Scott Smith spoke about courtroom ethics and appearing before a judge. In his remarks, he drew on over twenty years of experience on the bench in Georgia’s Cherokee Judicial Circuit, where he began as a prosecutor, was appointed to the Superior Court in 2005, and currently serves as Chief Judge. He emphasized the importance of preparation, clarity, professionalism, and integrity in the courtroom. Significantly, this was not his first appearance at AJMLS: he was also a guest lecturer last year in Professor Malempati’s class, reinforcing the value of recurring engagement with students and bridging classroom theory with judicial practice.
Nathan Gaffney
Nathan Gaffney spoke about incorporating the use of artificial intelligence in litigation and drafting documents. As a partner and trial attorney at Fried Goldberg LLC, he came to AJMLS with a background in catastrophic injury defense, appellate work, and now plaintiff’s personal-injury litigation. He discussed how technology continues to shape the legal landscape and the importance of using AI responsibly, particularly with regard to accuracy, ethics, and client confidentiality.
Randy Kessler
Randy Kessler shared his experience representing High-Profile Clients. As founding partner of Kessler & Solomiany, LLC, he has over 35 years of experience in domestic relations and family law matters including divorce, custody, paternity, prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, and child support. He is also an author of multiple family-law books and an adjunct professor of family law litigation at Emory Law School. He shared insights into representing clients in complex domestic relations matters, emphasizing the balance between legal expertise and client sensitivity. His extensive experience and ongoing teaching at Emory Law provided students with a deeper appreciation for the practical and human sides of family law.
Suzanne Oldweiler ’25
Suzanne Oldweiler spoke about family law and representing clients. A 2025 alumna of AJMLS, she now practices exclusively in family law at Kessler & Solomiany, LLC in Atlanta. As a law student she served as Editor-in-Chief of the John Marshall Law Journal, launched the Family Law Society’s “Coffee with a Family Lawyer” program, held an externship with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation assisting survivors of domestic violence, and qualified as a Pupil in the Charles Longstreet Weltner Family Law Inn of Court. During her talk, she drew on her student-experience at AJMLS, the transition to practice, and insights from representing clients in custody, divorce, and modification matters. Her firsthand perspective provided students with a realistic view of what early family law practice entails.
Thank you to all of our guest speakers for taking the time to come out and speak to students at AJMLS this October. The insights you provided are invaluable to the next generation of advocates and will no doubt inspire and inform their professional journeys.