Gregory O’Neil Shenton | Cobb Circuit, Post 5

Candidate Statement

It is with the most sincere desire to bring a fresh, new voice to the Board of Governors that I humbly ask for your vote for Post 5.

For more than a decade, I have devoted significant time out of my practice to serve the lawyers of our circuit through the Cobb County Bar Association. While I currently serve as the treasurer of the Cobb Bar and have served numerous terms on the Cobb Bar’s Board of Trustees, I served for nearly 10 years as the chair of the Law Day Golf Classic (one of the two major fundraisers for the Children’s Emergency Fund). Though the Golf Classic, we have raised nearly $200,000 to provide grants to Cobb County’s children in need. I have also served as co-chair of the Bench & Bar Committee for eight years and for three years as the president of the Business Law & Litigation Section.

Service has been a centerpiece of my life outside of our profession, as well. In addition to serving as the chair of the Board of Trustees of my family’s local church and as a member of several civic organizations, I have coached youth sports for more than 20 years, and I currently serve as an assistant coach for the varsity cross-country and track and field teams at The Walker School in Marietta.

I now hope that you will allow me the honor to serve and represent the members of the Cobb Judicial Circuit through Post 5. Cobb has a proud history of strong leaders on the Board who have steadfastly acted in the best interest of all lawyers in our circuit, and I promise to keep that tenet at the heart of my service, if elected.

Education

• B.A., Transylvania University, 1997
• J.D., Emory University School of Law, 2000

Personal/Family

Greg Shenton has lived in Smyrna for nearly 20 years with his wife, who is an elementary school teacher, and their two school-aged children. Greg and his family are members of the Smyrna First United Methodist Church, where Greg recently completed a three-year term on the Board of Trustees, including chairman. Greg is an avid baseball fan. While in college, Greg played baseball and ran cross-country, twice earning All-American Scholar-Athlete honors in cross-country. While at Emory Law, Greg served as the president of the Graduate Senate and was recognized with the Dean’s Public Service Award.

Professional Background, Bar Activities, Civic Activities

• Greg Shenton has enjoyed practicing at his own firm, Shenton Law in Marietta, since 2012. Greg’s practice includes business law and litigation, construction law and litigation, restrictive covenant disputes, and transactional matters for small businesses. Greg began his career in 2000 at Morris, Manning & Martin in Atlanta and then moved to Fields Howell in 2005, where he was named partner in 2007.
• Greg currently serves as treasurer of the Cobb County Bar Association, served as secretary, has served as co-chair of the Bench & Bar Committee since 2017, and was awarded the President’s Award in 2019. Greg served multiple terms as a member-at-large on the Cobb Bar Board of Trustees, multiple terms as president of the Business Law & Litigation Section, served for nearly 10 years as the chair of the Law Day Golf Classic Benefitting the Children’s Emergency Fund and past chair of the Legal Food Frenzy.
• Greg has been recognized as a Super Lawyer from 2022 to 2024, was recognized as a Rising Star from 2010 to 2014, and has been named Best of Georgia as a Business Law Advisor by the Georgia Business Journal every year since 2022. Greg has also been recognized annually by the Marietta Daily Journal’s Best of Cobb since 2019.
• Greg coaches the varsity cross-country and track & field teams at The Walker School in Marietta and is a USATF-certified developmental coach.
• Greg is a member of the Leadership Cobb Class of 2015. Greg is a past president of the Greenwood Neighborhood Association, is a former member and director of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta, and has served as a coach with Smyrna Little League Baseball and Smyrna Soccer Club/NASA TopHat. Greg has also served as a marathon mentor for Team in Training benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Main Issues Facing the State Bar/Position

• One of the most pressing issues facing the State Bar in the next few years will be the increase in the use of artificial intelligence. While AI can be a valuable asset to the efficient provision of legal services, AI also presents challenges such as privacy concerns, data security, ethical dilemmas over client confidentiality, the competence of counsel independent of AI, liability for errors in the use of AI, and the responsible and ethical use of AI in general. The Bar as a whole needs to improve its understanding of the issues that AI presents and the challenges that attorneys are going to face with AI in the very near future before crafting the solutions to these new and complex dilemmas.
• A second issue facing the State Bar is the incredible increase in attacks on the integrity of the judiciary. Chief Justice Peterson recently touched on this during his State of the Judiciary address to the General Assembly. The Bar and each member of the Bar is responsible for fostering and encouraging an atmosphere and culture where, if a party disagrees with a ruling of the Court or the findings of a jury, any criticism or disagreement is focused toward the decision or the weight of the evidence and not the judge or jury. Attacks on the integrity and legitimacy of the bench or of the judicial system as a whole erodes the public faith in the rule of law, the belief in the impartiality of the courts, and the confidence in the pathway to justice afforded to the people by our Constitution. These attacks are particularly harmful when they come from those with the greatest power and influence.