Sonja N. Brown | Cobb Circuit, Post 7

Candidate Statement

I am humbled to offer myself for service for Post 7 on the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors (BOG). The authority and influence of the BOG affects the legal careers of all Bar members and the way we conduct business. It is therefore critical that our circuit maintain the strong representation on the Board of Governors that we currently have and have had for many years. I respectfully ask for your support and vote to be your next representative on the BOG.

I have spent my entire career serving in Bar leadership positions, both statewide and locally. The professional and personal relationships I have established, nurtured and maintained with lawyers and judges across the state through my years of Bar service will help our circuit on the BOG. It is my earnest belief that my extensive Bar experience uniquely positions and qualifies me to continue the outstanding leadership of our current BOG members. Additionally, as a sitting judge, I know how important it is to maintain the public’s trust and confidence in lawyers and the justice system.

I currently serve on the State Bar of Georgia’s Bench and Bar Committee, the Local and Voluntary Bars Committee and the Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Profession.

I understand how important it is for the Bar be attuned to the needs of the everyday practicing lawyer, and as a BOG member, I will work to continue to improve the legal profession and to attend to the interests of every lawyer, and the community we serve.

There are many challenges facing our profession, so our circuit needs another proven leader who understands our legal community and has demonstrated the work ethic and dedication needed to represent our interests.

I respectfully ask for your vote!

Education

• Clark Atlanta University (1995)
• Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (2004)
• Duke Divinity School (2022)

Personal/Family

• I am proud to have called Cobb County home since 1997, having lived in Kennesaw since 2000.
• I am the proud aunt of six amazing human beings, two nieces and four nephews, ages 26, 21, 18, 14,14 and 11. And, no, the 14-year-olds are not twins, but cousins.
• I am an avid fitness enthusiast who is licensed to teach Zumba^®, and I also enjoy running 5Ks, yoga and boot camp. I am a football fanatic, but I love watching all sports and am usually the loudest cheerleader at my nieces’ and nephews’ sporting events.

Professional Background, Bar Activities, Civic Activities

• Cobb County Superior Court judge, 2023–present
• Cobb County Magistrate Court judge, 2021–2022
• Director of community affairs/deputy chief assistant district attorney (Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney), 2017–2020
• Deputy chief assistant solicitor-general (DeKalb County Solicitor-General’s Office), 2011–2016
• Chief senior assistant district attorney (Office of the Fulton County District Attorney), 2007–2011
• Staff counsel and paralegal/contracts administrator (Convergent Media Systems Corporation), 2001–2006
• Cobb Bar Association; Atlanta Bar Association (2025-26 vice-chair, Judicial Section); the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA); Gate City Bar Association; the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL); the Lawyers Club of Atlanta (Executive Committee member); Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia; Council of Superior Court Judges (chair, Resolutions Committee).
• Tommy Nobis Center (Board of Directors); Covenant House of Georgia; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®; Cobb Chamber of Commerce; Cobb Executive Women (CEW) Group; LiveSafe Resources’ Academy of Women Leaders.
• Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service (2025); Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Distinguished Judicial Award (2025); Georgia Legal Award for Best Mentor (2022); GABWA’s Bensonetta Tipton Lane Award for Commitment to the Family (2018), which recognizes a GABWA member who has used her professional and personal leadership to strengthen the community through family, and child-related programs, and initiatives, including those that focus on education, domestic violence, health care, child advocacy, adoption and other issues impacting the family.

Main Issues Facing the State Bar/Position

Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Legal Practice

• Provide AI literacy and risk management CLEs;
• Develop model best practices for AI use;
• Create an AI Risk Assessment Toolkit for solo and small firms.

Aging Lawyers, Capacity and Transitions
Creation of a task force focused on:

• Early identification and education (a non-disciplinary transition program);
• Providing confidential guidance and planning;
• Developing confidential self-assessment and planning tools;
• Creating succession and wind-down pathways before a crisis occurs;
• Protecting clients while respecting the lawyer’s autonomy so as to not malign the lawyer’s reputation; and
• Providing spouses and families with guidance and assistance, reducing the burden of having to wind down a legal practice without having the necessary expertise.

Mental Health, Substance Use and Attorney Well-Being

• Expand the promotion of existing resources and treatment programs;
• Evaluate the possibility of creating a confidential peer support framework;
• Add wellness and mental health education as mandatory CLE requirements (similar to the ethics and professionalism requirements); and
• Create discipline diversion programs that align with treatment resources.