We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joanna Boyd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

As a Family Lawyer, I work with people during some of the most challenging seasons of their lives. I may work with someone who is going through a divorce who needs legal counsel as well as emotional support. I may also help a father navigate paternity, legitimation, and visitation rights.

In terms of success stories, this one in particular is my favorite. I took on a case where a man hadn’t seen his young son in several years. This man was distraught from not seeing his son and stressed out from going back and forth with his child’s mother for so long. She had not been answering any of his calls and had even moved without notice, leaving him in the dark about his child. Although it was clear how badly he wanted to see his son, the child’s mom was even more determined to not allow her son to spend time with his father. When the man came to me, he was on his last hope.

Once retained, I went to work on his case and after just a few months, he was granted visitation rights and got to see his son! That was a huge win for the father and an emotional day for his son. I will never forget that story. This is the type of work that fuels me and gives me purpose.

Joanna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Joanna Boyd and I am a Family Lawyer, practicing in the state of Georgia. I help families, couples, and individuals navigate Georgia Family Law, by specializing in marriage protection (e.g., prenups/postnups), Father’s Rights, Grandparent’s rights, child support, custody battles, and divorce.

I am a proud Atlanta native and attended the real GSU (a.k.a., Georgia State University). There, I studied Legal Issues Track in Criminal Justice and Sociology, before attending Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. Not only did I graduate in the top sector of my class at both GSU and John Marshall, but I was also actively involved in prominent organizations, such as the Student Bar Association (SBA), the Black Law Student Association (BLSA), the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), the Criminal Law Society, as well as the Family Law Society.

Once I graduated, I planned to practice criminal law, because I thought it would be both challenging and lucrative. After I passed the bar in Georgia, I sought out jobs in criminal law, but ended up with a job in Family Law. For some people, that could be seen as a setback, but God was using it as a stepping stone to a greater platform and purpose.

I firmly believe that Family Law chose me. Not only was I naturally good at it, but every job I had after the first one, only got easier. Now, I own my own Family Law Firm – J.G. Boyd Law, LLC.

Starting my own firm is one of the highlights of my career. I didn’t feel appreciated or valued in my last job, especially as a Black Woman with an authentic personality, so I stepped out on faith to start my own firm where I could bet on myself. Not only did I overcome imposter syndrome, but my practice has experienced year over year growth since I’ve launched. That’s all God and hard work.

I’m excited to help more people get their life back on track, especially fathers who haven’t seen their kids in far too long. As a single mother, I recognize that kids need both of their parents and I am committed to helping more dads be a consistent, positive presence in their children’s life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started my career, like many others, I was excited, committed, and determined to help every client that approached me. I wasn’t invincible, but I was ambitious and had something to prove.

As a Family Lawyer, I have been fortunate to help a lot of dads reunite with their kids. This is work I believe in whole-heartedly. However, all that glitters is not gold, and the same can be said of some of my clients.

I took on a dad who hadn’t seen their kid in a long time. The mom was hard to get a hold of. I did everything in my power to fight for this father’s right to see his child.

However, what I didn’t know at the time was that he was abusive and narcissistic. He had done an impeccable job of hiding those traits. When the information came out, I was still retained as his lawyer and had an obligation to continue to do the best that I could. In the end, I was able to get him access, but I negotiated provisions to be in place to protect the child.

What I learned from this situation was that there are two sides to every story. Every client’s case is not worth taking on. Although I pride myself on being ambitious, it is also important to be mindful of who you are fighting and who you are helping. Now that I have my own firm, my team can vet my clients before I even speak with them. This allows me to help people whose goals and character align with my own.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I am an avid reader. However, I don’t read a lot of books. My goal is not to assimilate information from other sources, but to consistently hone and sharpen my own skills.

Instead of books, I read countless case studies to analyze data and find trends. These studies allow me to develop my own strategic mindset for when I step into court. I also look at how one or more issues in these cases may impact the Black community. This helps me stay focused on how I can help strengthen and empower Atlanta’s Black community, especially by advocating for fathers to be present in their children’s lives.

I also keep a pulse on news, updates in Georgia law, and what’s going on with the culture / Black community. This allows me to provide real-world, timely updates, success stories, cautionary tales, and other information that may help my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: jgboydlaw.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jgboydlaw
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jgboydlaw/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-g-boyd-esq-886aa480/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jgboydlaw
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxKGh5OMOoyuUjHZ26p8RWQ
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/j-g-boyd-law-atlanta