Sherry V Neal
Neal & Wright LLC
SHERRY V. NEAL is the managing member of Neal & Wright LLC. Experienced in both the private and non-profit legal sectors, Sherry specializes in assisting families who want to grow through adoption. Sherry's practice includes all types of adoption, including finalization of agency placements, relative adoptions, stepparent adoptions, second parent adoptions, "readoption" or domestication of foreign-granted adoptions, and other domestic or international adoption matters. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to adoption and Title IV-E adoption assistance benefits.
Sherry also provides legal services in the area of estate planning, focusing on middle income estates and special needs trusts. This practice includes assisting clients with advance directives, powers of attorney, and designations of standby guardians.
Through these practice areas, Sherry's goal is to assist her clients with creating families and protecting the rights of family members, particularly those with special needs.
As an outgrowth of her adoption practice and because of her commitment to assist all families, Sherry is an associate member of the Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies, a member of Voice for Adoption, and a member of the Stonewall Bar Association. Sherry is also involved with several organizations that focus on legal issues affecting children, particularly children who are involved in some way with the judicial system, including the Children in the Courts Committee for the State Bar of Georgia.
In addition to her practice-related involvement, Sherry is a member of the State Bar Women & Minorities in the Profession Committee and the DeKalb Bar Association. Sherry also serves as a mentor to new lawyers through the State Bar Transition into Practice Program and is Director of CLE for the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.
Outside of the legal arena, Sherry heads up the Lake Claire Parents Association and has been active in a number of civic organizations, including the Peachtree-Atlanta Kiwanis Club.
Sherry graduated summa cum laude from Wesleyan College, where she played soccer and sang in the Washboard Band. She graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she was a member of the Women Law Students Association and the Georgia Law Review.
Sherry's partner in life and work is Daniel S. Wright. They and their daughter make their home in the Lake Claire neighborhood of Atlanta. In addition to chasing her daughter around the park, Sherry's personal interests include yoga, reading, crocheting, playing a wicked game of Rock Band with her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, playing the (real) piano, and travel.
- The University of Georgia School of Law
- J.D. | Law
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- Honors: Cum Laude, Georgia Law Review, Vasser Woolley Scholar, Phi Kappa Phi Fellow
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- Wesleyan College
- B.A. (1996) | Biology, Philosophy
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- Honors: Summa Cum Laude, President's and Dean's Lists, Presidential Scholar, Alumnae Award for Leadership
- Activities: Intern for Senator Sam Nunn, Intercollegiate Soccer, Washboard Band
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- Director, Grandparent/Relative Caregiver Project
- Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc.
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- Associate Attorney
- Kilpatrick Stockton
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- Getting to Give: Strategies to Maximize Your Impact in the Community
- Georgia Bar Journal
- To Grandmother's House We Go: Children in Kinship Care
- American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, Children's Rights Litigation Committee Newsletter
- Interstate Jurisdictional Issues - The UCCJEA and the UCCJA
- ICLE
- Award of Achievement
- State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division
- Award of Achievement
- State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division
- Outstanding Alumna Award
- Monroe Academy
- Power of One Volunteer Award
- AARP Georgia
- Special Recognition for Service
- Project Healthy Grandparents
- Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies
- Associate Member
- - Current
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- Stonewall Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
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- DeKalb Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
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- Decatur Business Association
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division
- Director for CLE
- - Current
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- State Bar of Georgia Women & Minorities in the Profession Committee
- Advisor
- - Current
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- Voice for Adoption
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of Georgia Children and the Courts Committee
- Advisor
- - Current
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- Peachtree Atlanta Kiwanis Club
- Member
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- Activities: Served as Secretary, President-Elect, President, Immediate Past-President, and Chair of Rising Leaders Initiative
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- Georgia
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- 11th Circuit
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- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
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- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Adoption
- Adoption Assistance Benefits
- Special Needs Trusts
- Unsealing Adoption & Sealed Original Birth Records