Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) is pleased to welcome an accomplished group of new faculty members for the Fall 2026 semester. Bringing decades of experience across litigation, family law, intellectual property, entertainment and media law, and other areas of practice, these attorneys offer students valuable perspectives drawn from both the courtroom and the legal profession. Their diverse backgrounds and professional expertise will enrich the classroom experience and help prepare AJMLS students to navigate the evolving legal landscape. Get to know the newest members of the AJMLS faculty below.
Anthony Cochran
Adjunct Professor
Anthony (Tony) L. Cochran is an Atlanta attorney with more than 50 years of experience representing individuals and businesses in complex civil, criminal, administrative, and regulatory matters. He has tried dozens of jury and bench trials in both federal and state courts, as well as administrative, regulatory, and medical peer review proceedings. His broad trial experience allows him to navigate matters involving parallel civil, administrative, and criminal proceedings.
Cochran is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and regularly participates in continuing legal education programs and seminars. He has presented on a range of topics, including summary evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 1006, the application of Daubert to expert testimony, representation of physicians, white-collar criminal defense, and internal investigations. He has also served as Chair and Director of the Zaban Paradies Center, an organization that assists homeless couples with obtaining housing and employment.
Cochran began his legal career in Atlanta with Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy after graduating magna cum laude from Northwestern University Law School in 1976. From 1982 to 1985, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, where he prosecuted a variety of criminal cases and received commendations from the U.S. Attorney General and the Director of the FBI. He later served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Emory University School of Law from 1986 to 2000.
Peter Duitsman
Adjunct Professor
Peter J. Duitsman is Of Counsel at Smith Entertainment Law Group, where he provides legal and business affairs support to clients across the media, sports, and entertainment industries. He advises content creators, platforms, studios, and distributors on the development, acquisition, production, and monetization of content. Previously, Duitsman served as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Turner Broadcasting, WarnerMedia, and Warner Bros. Discovery, where he held a variety of roles focused on content acquisition, production, rights management, and standards and practices for the company’s television networks and digital platforms.
Duitsman began his legal career as a litigation associate with Troutman Sanders (now Troutman Pepper Locke) in Atlanta and also served as a judicial extern for Senior Judge W. Earl Britt of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He has served on the board of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts and as Vice Chair of the Copyright Committee of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia.
Duitsman earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina and his J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served on the University of North Carolina Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.
Rebecca Hoelting
Adjunct Professor
Rebecca Hoelting is a founding member of Hoelting & McCormack, LLC, a boutique family law firm in Midtown Atlanta, where she has practiced for more than 30 years. Throughout her career, she has represented clients in a variety of family law matters, working in settings ranging from solo practices to large downtown law firms before founding her current firm with her law partner in 2004. In addition to her litigation practice, Hoelting serves as a mediator and as a Guardian ad Litem, advocating for the best interests of minor children in contested custody matters.
Hoelting is recognized for her commitment to both her clients and the broader community. She has been named among the Top 50 Women Georgia Super Lawyers from 2012 through 2026 and among the Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers from 2020 through 2023. Her community involvement includes serving on the Executive Committee of the Global Village Project, as a Board Member of the Atlanta Bar Foundation, and as a Board Member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeastern Region.
Hoelting earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. cum laude from the University of Georgia. Her practice is grounded in thoughtful communication, strategic planning, and skilled advocacy, with a focus on helping clients navigate some of the most challenging moments of their lives and emerge in the best possible position financially, as parents, and emotionally.
James McGee
Adjunct Professor
James M. McGee is a senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he leads the legal team supporting the company’s U.S. television networks, including Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, TBS, TNT, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, and TLC. His work encompasses the development and production of original programming, licensed content acquisitions, talent agreements, marketing, standards and practices, outbound licensing, and the distribution of content across digital platforms.
Before joining Warner Bros. Discovery, McGee practiced in the Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions group at King & Spalding in Atlanta. His experience spans intellectual property, technology transactions, entertainment, and media law, providing a broad perspective on the legal and business considerations involved in the creation, licensing, and distribution of content.
McGee earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Georgia, where he served as executive notes editor for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law.
Sam Starks
Adjunct Professor & CCJI Executive Director
Sam Starks is an experienced litigation attorney and founder of The Starks Law Firm, with more than 30 years of civil and criminal trial and appellate experience in local, state, and federal courts. He has practiced in the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Ohio, handling a broad range of litigation matters throughout his career. Starks is also a former Senior Attorney with the Cochran Firm Atlanta, former partner at Martin & Jones, and former associate at Garland, Samuel & Loeb.
Starks began his legal career in Washington, D.C., as a staff attorney at The Washington Post and later served for several years as a staff attorney with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. He relocated to Atlanta in 1999, where he continued his litigation practice and developed extensive experience representing clients in both trial and appellate proceedings.
Starks earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1992, where he served as a Note Editor on the Duke Law Journal. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Megan Boyd
Legal Writing Instructor
Megan E. Boyd is a lawyer, legal writing scholar, and educator. Before entering academia, she practiced in Atlanta, where she focused on insurance coverage and bad-faith litigation. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Asha F. Jackson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Boyd later joined the faculty of Georgia State University College of Law, where she taught legal research and writing, advanced legal writing, civil procedure, and professional responsibility.
Boyd’s scholarship focuses on legal writing, advocacy, and legal education. She has published extensively in law reviews and bar journals and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing. Her work explores effective legal communication, persuasive advocacy, and the development of practical writing skills for lawyers.
Boyd earned a Ph.D. in English from Georgia State University. Her dissertation, Law, Legitimacy, and Authority in Lewis Carroll, examines questions of law and governance in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark.