Lawyer Has Strong Sense of Social Justice
September 21, 2009
By Jackie Ricciardi/Staff
Published September 14, 2009
Tanya Jeffords wanted more control of her time and career, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
In 2008, the lawyer opened her own law office, Tanya Jeffords & Associates PC, at 418 Greene St. She wanted the flexibility to spend time with her family and have more time trying cases in the courtroom.
Mrs. Jeffords, 39, handles cases in criminal law, personal injury, family law, civil litigation, and employment and labor law. Criminal law makes up 50 percent of her practice. She is licensed in Georgia and South Carolina.
“I’m the first lawyer in my whole family,” she said. ”I think the law is a great profession. It allows you to be continuously challenged. I never get bored.
”My nickname is The Tiger.”
She said she was given that nickname by a client in her first murder case. He told her that she was aggressive in the courtroom. In her office, she displays a vase with a picture of a tiger on the front.
Throughout Mrs. Jeffords’ office are items representing the people and things that mean the most to her: faith, family and the law. Lining her desk and tables are photos of her husband, William Jeffords III, and her young son, William IV.
On the wall near her desk is a large poster that reads “World’s Greatest Mother Award” from her son. Being a mother is an important part of her life, she said.
Her Christian faith also plays a central role, as symbolized by biblical Scriptures and a colorful picture of several women dressed in church attire that hangs across from her desk. There are countless law books lining her bookshelf, in addition to the iconic symbol of the law: the scales of justice.
Lawyer Jacque Hawk has known Mrs. Jeffords since she was a college student. Today, she shares office space with him. Mr. Hawk said she is an “excellent attorney.”
“She’s already very, very good and has the potential to be unbelievable,” he said. “I consider her my protégé, and she considers herself my protégé. The thing about Tanya, Tanya is very smart. When you teach her anything, that’s it. She’s got it.”
When Mrs. Jeffords was starting at the public defender’s office, she went to Mr. Hawk’s office for advice on his trial techniques.
“I spent about two hours, and she utilized it in the next four or five trials and won every trial,” Mr. Hawk said. “I could do that with 50 other lawyers, and maybe one or two would get it as quick as she did and be able to do that.
”She was able to take what I taught her in a couple of hours, apply it immediately and get great results, which is rare.”
He would prefer that Mrs. Jeffords worked for him, he said, but he’s pleased that she has branched out on her own.
“I think it’s great for her,” Mr. Hawk said. “There’s some attorneys, you see them go out on their own and you know that’s a disaster. With her, she’s going to be fine because she’s very good with people, and she understands the legal process and the trial process extremely well.
“Those two things will make you successful, and she’s got those two things going for her.”
Faithful decisions
Mrs. Jeffords also has her faith to rely on, said the Rev. Sam Davis, her pastor at Beulah Grove Baptist Church. He has known Mrs. Jeffords for more than 10 years.
“On a scale of one to 10, let’s give her a 12,” the Rev. Davis said. “It’s just her personality and her commitment to people. Tanya has an unusual love for people. That has really impressed me over the years.”
Another commitment she makes is to Bible study, which she attends noon Wednesday despite her busy schedule.
“She’s always kept prayer in the midst of all of her decisions,” the Rev. Davis said. “She talks about the struggles, but Tanya seems to move right through them because of her personality and her commitment to the Lord.”
He has seen Mrs. Jeffords in action with her son and her “adopted son,” Tavarus Patterson, 20.
“Tanya loves children, and the little child they have now, he’s the center of their life. The love that she has for her children just overflows into love for other children,” the Rev. Davis said. “In addition, … Tanya is a family-focused person. She loves family. It’s such a beautiful sight to see a young person with such a fantastic career in front of them that loves the Lord as much as she does.”
The pastor said that he can count on Mrs. Jeffords’ legal expertise “whenever there is need at the church.”
“Tanya is always the first person that I look for. She has given me free consultation ever since she has been a part of the church. That speaks volumes,” he said.
Hard work
Mrs. Jeffords grew up in Milpitas, Calif., the youngest child. In her close-knit family, she had four sisters and one brother, and a foster child also lived in the home. Her mother, Arnetta Flowers, was the head of the household.
“Family is very important to me because of that. We didn’t have much money, so actually I went to work at 14 years old so that I could help my mom,” Mrs. Jeffords said. “I tried to be as independent as I could at a young age so that my mom wouldn’t have to worry. She worked seven days a week and three jobs.”
Mrs. Jeffords’ first job was working as a store clerk at a convenience store, TGNY, which is similar to Family Dollar. Mrs. Jeffords said that she learned about work at an early age.
“You have to work hard. That’s what it takes to get where you want to go,” she said.
In high school, she knew that she wanted to be either a lawyer or a fashion designer.
“Somebody told me that it was 11 years to become a lawyer, and I just was not going to school that long. I was always designing clothes and sewing, so I went to design school right out of high school,” Mrs. Jeffords said.
She attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in San Francisco. After completing her studies, she moved to Los Angeles and worked for several years in the design industry.
“It was wonderful,” she said. “I had a good time.”
In 1992, Mrs. Jeffords moved to the South to earn a business degree. Her mother and stepfather lived in the Augusta area, and she wanted to be closer to her stepfather because he was ill.
“I ended up deciding to go to law school instead (of getting a business degree). I changed my whole career path,” she said.
Mrs. Jeffords enrolled in classes at Augusta State University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and sociology. She graduated from law school at Mercer University in 2001 and passed the bar exams in Georgia and South Carolina.
“I got married the same week that I graduated from law school,” Mrs. Jeffords said. “I got married on Thursday and I graduated from law school on Saturday. Right on the Savannah River.
”I wanted to make a commitment to my family first and my career second, and that’s why I did that.”
She has been married for eight years.
After graduation, she worked for two years as a federal judicial law clerk for Judge Louis Sands in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in Albany.
“I didn’t like doing the criminal law at that point, and it’s so funny that’s what I do now,” she said.
In 2003, she returned to Augusta and got a job at Fulcher Hagler LLP, where she concentrated on personal injury defense and railroad litigation defense.
Still, Mrs. Jeffords wanted to get more trial experience and to help people, so she decided to take a position at the public defender’s office in 2005. She worked there for three years.
“I was able to try numerous serious felony cases, including murders, armed robberies,” she said.
Art Davison, a lawyer at Fulcher Hagler, worked with Mrs. Jeffords for several years.
“Tanya had always wanted to spend a lot of time in the courtroom,” Mr. Davison said. “She’s certainly a very bright and delightful person. We knew she would do well.
“Tanya is a person who’s always looking for challenges, and she’s been successful in meeting those challenges. She’s a pleasure to work with.”
In business
In March 2008, Mrs. Jeffords decided to go into private practice. Her son had been born in 2007, and she wanted to spend more time with him.
“The whole purpose of going into private practice was that I did not want my son to be raised by the day care,” she said. “I wanted to be there and have the flexibility. …
“Plus, I wanted to get back into the civil arena because I was doing all criminal. I like the balance now between the civil litigation and the criminal work.”
Mrs. Jeffords loves her job.
“I enjoy practicing law,” she said. “I love to try cases. That is the most challenging and best experience for me, and I like helping people.
”That’s what you do as a lawyer. You’re helping people with their problems. You’re the person going with them through a tough time.”
Being her own boss, Mrs. Jeffords has the freedom to pursue areas of law that she finds interesting. She is now the defense attorney for drug court.
“That’s one of the things that I enjoy most about being in private practice,” Mrs. Jeffords said. “I have a contract to work with drug court and people who are trying to get their lives on track, but they’ve been charged with felonies.”
She goes out to interview indigent clients and acts as their advocate to get into drug court if they can’t afford an attorney, she said. She attends court every Thursday. Mrs. Jeffords also sits on the drug court team, which creates the process for getting into drug court, she said.
“I wouldn’t be able to do that if I weren’t in private practice,” she said.
During her last year in college, Mrs. Jeffords worked with Mr. Hawk as his bookkeeper and paralegal. When she was about to leave for law school, he bought her a framed picture of the first black senator and representatives and said that she was going to be the next senator.
When she started her own practice, she sought Mr. Hawk’s expertise. She says he is one of the best criminal defense lawyers in town. She frequently asks him questions so that she can continually improve as a lawyer, she said.
The biggest challenge is being a business owner.
“I personally would like to just try cases, but you have to do both,” she said.
In June, Mrs. Jeffords argued her first case before the Supreme Court of Georgia. It was an appeal for a murder trial, the State of Georgia v. Richard Gonnella. She’s still waiting for the results.
Mrs. Jeffords has a busy schedule, so she relies on “preparation and the power of prayer.”
“I just take it day by day and week by week, but my first priority is to my husband, my child, my business and then helping kids to achieve their dreams,” Mrs. Jeffords said. “The best part of the day is my son’s smile and kiss. It’s pretty awesome.
“It’s hard being a mom, wife and a trial lawyer. A lot of the successful women, particularly African-American women, they’re not married.
“I try to be cognizant of what’s around me and do what I can to do it differently, by keeping my family as the center. I feel lucky to be pursuing my passion and my purpose in my life in every area, including my work.”
Building dreams
One of Mrs. Jeffords’ passions is helping young people. She is the president of Dream Builders of America’s Youth Inc., a nonprofit organization that she helped start in Albany in 2002.
“The reason we started was that I had a mentee who was living with me, and I realized that she just didn’t have a lot of confidence,” Mrs. Jeffords said. “She talked herself out of everything she could possibly achieve in life before she even made one step forward. I realized a lot of young people lack confidence.”
Dream Builders is launching a program called the Frederick Douglass Mobile Reading Room.
“Our goal is to work with pre-K to develop in them a love for reading. If the kids don’t know how to read, they’re the ones most likely to drop out of school and commit crimes,” Mrs. Jeffords said.
Dream Builders has a group of 25 student ambassadors from the Augusta area. The organization takes them on a college tour and helps them prepare for SAT and ACT. They go on a tour of the State Bar of Georgia and other activities.
The organization is starting a 12-week program at Murphey Middle School.
Two years ago, when Tavarus Patterson didn’t have anywhere else to go, he went to live with Mrs. Jeffords during his senior year in high school.
Today, Mr. Patterson is a sophomore chemistry/pre-pharmacy major at the University of South Carolina Aiken. He hopes to be accepted into pharmacy school next year.
He earned excellent grades before he met Mrs. Jeffords, but he said she has been a good role model.
“I call her my mom. She’s really, really sweet. She’s really good and caring. She tries to help people out as much as she can, and she doesn’t think of herself,” he said.
In the next 10 years, Mrs. Jeffords wants her private practice to allow her to “be there for the important events in her son’s life.” She wants to try to win as many cases as possible, both criminal and civil.
Mrs. Jeffords hopes to add to her family.
“I would love to adopt a baby and become foster parents in the future for young children,” she said.
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
Juvenile Court Program Provides Troubled Parents with Tools for Recovery
September 21, 2009
By Jan Skutch
Published September 20, 2009
FEW THOUGHT MS. Q COULD PULL THIS OFF.
The 27-year-old mother of three was battling a long-term cocaine abuse problem that threatened to take away her family – throwing three children into the already over-taxed foster-care program. But on this day, Chatham County Juvenile Court Judge Patricia Stone and her Family Dependency Treatment Court team are celebrating the mother’s apparent victory over her substance abuse and the return of her children “with conditions.” She has been clean of drugs for 483 days and counting.
“There were times when I begged and pleaded with you,” Stone told Ms. Q. “But look at you now.”
She has been pro-active in getting her children to the eye doctor, working with credit counselors, completing glossy-looking schedules for her children’s activities and preparing a resume and cover letter for a future employer.
“That’s what good moms do,” Stone said. “I’m so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.”
Because these discussions involve deprivation hearings, which by law are closed to the public, Stone closely guards the confidentiality of the participants. The Savannah Morning News will do likewise to protect confidentiality of them and their children by identifying participants only by an initial.
Read essays written by two graduates of the Family Dependency Treatment Court
Hard work
Ms. Q was one of the doubtful cases the court faces. Her lengthy substance abuse history – including several failed past treatment regimens – along with a history of bad associates, domestic abuse victimization and almost zero parenting skills made her a likely candidate to fail.
She is, however, an example of success in a court that prides itself on taking only the tough cases.
Stone started the court in January as a civil forum that only deals with volunteers – those who want to overcome drug and/or alcohol use and keep their children.
Stone and her team combine cheerleading with intensive support programs while keeping the possibility of consequences, including sanctions, to re-establish limits to behavior.
Many of these parents have never received a pat on the back, something the court tries to correct.
Since January, 18 parents have been enrolled – representing 63 children and grandchildren, said court coordinator Jean Newton-Cottier.
Five have graduated and seven more are working toward graduation, she said.
Team members work with participants to deal with hurdles and to produce stable, clean and healthy parents.
“Our goal is permanency for children …what’s best for that child,” Stone said.
Once in, Stone said, “I won’t let them drop out.”
“If you cannot do it in this program, with all of the extensive services and support, then you probably are not able to parent your children.”
A model program
The numbers are chilling.
In cases of child deprivation, initial reports show that at least 54 percent resulted from the substance abuse of the parent or caregiver.
An additional 15 percent are found to involve substance abuse.
Stone said she and her team think as many as 95 percent of deprivation cases are related to substance abuse.
The court offers an intensive program to break the cycle of addiction in the families.
It is a drug-court model, one of eight in Georgia.
It is a 12- to 18-month program in which a team of experts and volunteers work closely with participants to achieve weekly specific goals designed to beat the abuse and instill needed life and parenting skills.
Stone as a cheerleader
“I want you to ask questions, to be proactive,” Stone encourages participants during court sessions. “Take control of your life. It has to be a lifetime, forever change.”
Lee Hooper, a retired businessman who serves as community advocate for the team, urges participants to think positively when they prepare required resumes. “When you put a resume together, think where you want to be, not where you have been,” Hooper urges a participant during a session. “You’ve got a lot of attributes.”
Dealing with past or continuing substance abuse problems is constant for the group, but individual participants may often face problems surrounding relationships with boyfriends, drug relapses or financial crises.
Often participants face problems in other courts, some criminal, and some in neighboring counties.
Standing firm
Stone often must assume a mother-figure role.
Ms. K has been doing well, staying clean from drugs for 144 days. But her husband is incarcerated, and she must be making decisions for when he is released.
“What are you going to do when your husband gets out?” Stone asks.
“How are you going to handle yourself? Your daughters deserve to have at least one clean and sober person, and that’s going to be you.”
Another, Ms. S, a 25-year-old mother of three, is having issues with her son.
“Don’t be a big push over,” Stone tells her. “(Your son) doesn’t need a friend. He needs a mom… Just say no.”
Team input encouraged
Stone meets with her team members each Tuesday in a conference room at the court. Exchanges between team member are at times spirited when discussing the progress of individuals who will appear before them in Stone’s courtroom later in the day.
Stone encourages team members to give their input, but she will be the final word.
In court, participants come with a white, loose-leaf binder – the FDTC Handbook.
It will accompany them through their journeys, providing schedules and other materials needed to meet the court’s requirements.
Success in small bites
Not all cases end well.
Ms. N, 30, is the mother of six. All but the youngest suffer from the effects of her use of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
She has been a particular challenge to Stone and her team members.
This day, she enters the courtroom from the front, dressed in shackles and Chatham County jail greens.
Attorney Leo Beckmann Jr., a special assistant attorney general representing the Department of Family & Children Services in the court, can be quite direct during pre-court staffing sessions.
This day, he brings his concerns into the courtroom.
“I am disappointed with the way you’ve been conducting yourself,” Beckmann tells Ms. N. “It’s put your children in a real tenuous situation. We are all just really disappointed in you, and your family’s disappointed in you.”
He explains she is only asked to obey a few simple rules.
“It’s the fact you’ve got to do it … It’s responsibility.”
The woman quickly retorts, “I raised my kids. Can’t nobody take that away from me.”
“I’m putting you on notice if you don’t change, your kids are not coming back to you,” Beckmann replies. “You need to start following the rules, but you can’t parent children if you’re sitting here in shackles.”
Stone has watched the exchange and has had enough.
“Regardless of what happened in the past, you get to choose whether you get your children back,” she admonishes.
“I’m done talking to you (today). I know what I’m going to do, go back (to jail) with the deputy. … I’ll see you next week. You better have a different attitude.”
By the following week, Ms. N has again fallen short of the mark, Stone informs her team during staffing.
She has failed to own up to a failure to make payments in Magistrate’s Court on some checks. Department of Family & Children Services officials have filed a motion to grant custody of one of her children to another family member until age 18.
That becomes the case several weeks later, with Stone calling it a “sad day, a very sad day” even as she assures the new parent of the court’s support if needed.
“I am very disappointed that you didn’t do it, but you made your decisions,” Stone tells Ms. N.
What would seem like a glaring defeat has a silver lining. Stone points out that the court program allowed them to keep Ms. N “Clean (from drugs) long enough to have a clean baby” – the first of her six to be born clean.
Excuses don’t work
Other participants fall somewhere between Ms. Q and Ms. N.
Ms. A, 36 and the mother of seven, has tested positive for a banned substance during a home visit by Deputy Sheriff Ron Robinson and his team.
“She absolutely denies the use,” attorney J. Michael Love, who represents the participants in the court, tells Stone.
The judge warns the woman she faces double sanctions if her use is proven.
“I haven’t done anything,” Ms. A tells the court. “I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I love my son.”
Her behavior convinces the team Ms. A needs more, not fewer, treatment sessions, citing what they call “relapse behavior.”
Another participant, Ms. D, got caught selling her food stamps for $11, a sale she said was motivated by her attempt to help someone else.
But the mother of two who is battling cocaine and marijuana abuse concedes she did not want to appear empty-handed at her 1-year-old son’s birthday party and used the money to buy a cheap toy for the occasion.
“There is no excuse for bad behavior,” a stern Stone tells her. “You have to make good choices all the time.”
Ms. A is working through problems, including a custody battle in a neighboring county.
But Stone is impressed with her efforts.
“What I’m impressed with is how much, by your demeanor, you want the children with you,” Stone said, urging her not to give up.
“I know what I have to do, and I’m going to do it,” comes the reply.
Family Dependency Treatment Court team members
– Jean Newton-Cottier, court coordinator and Chatham County Juvenile Court Judge Patricia Stone’s right-hand in the court.
– Attorney J. Michael Love, a private practitioner who represents parents in the program.
– Attorney Leo G. Beckmann Jr., a private practitioner serving as a special assistant attorney general representing the Department of Family & Children Services.
– Charlotte Rehmert, director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Lysbeth Cook, advocacy coordinator, who represent the rights of children in the court.
– Yolanda Parker, Tamika Williams and Ed Hines, Department of Family & Children Services case workers
– Brook Newberry and Leslie Backus, who are with Recovery Place Inc., a substance abuse treatment provider.
– Herb Smith with the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless.
– Chatham County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Robinson, who oversees the community policing team that conducts home inspections for the court.
–Community advocate Lee Hooper, a retired businessman who volunteers to give the court a community perspective and serves as Judicial Citizen’s Review Panel liaison.
– Rose Grant-Robinson, community outreach for Savannah Area Family Emergency Shelter Inc.
– Lori Loncon, Stone’s staff attorney
– Mary Tyson, Stone’s administrative assistant
