Joyce Gist Lewis

Joyce Gist Lewis is a skilled and tenacious advocate for private companies and governmental entities in and out of the courtroom. Joyce’s two decades of experience includes serving as lead counsel for claims involving professional liability, director and officer liability, business divorce, real estate litigation, employment discrimination defense, and catastrophic injury defense. Her appellate experience includes arguing cases before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and successfully petitioning for certiorari to Georgia’s Supreme Court. Joyce is also a top choice for government clients seeking counsel in sensitive intra-agency disputes and investigations. Her reputation as a principled trial advocate has resulted in Joyce being named to the “short-list” of nominees recommended by Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission for appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 2018 and to the Atlanta Judicial Circuit in 2011 and 2012.

“Joyce Lewis has defended cases against my clients. She is one of the most prepared and tenacious lawyers I have ever worked with, yet she never permitted her tenacity to compromise her ethics or professionalism. I rate her among the most honorable of any lawyer I have ever worked with.” – Opposing Counsel

Joyce received her BA, magna cum laude from Wake Forest University (1993) and her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law (1999). She is Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated Preeminent, and has been repeatedly rated by her peers as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia, as well as one of the Top 50 Women. Joyce’s current leadership positions include her roles as Chair of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta and President of the Board of the Federal Defender Program, Inc. She serves as a Master in GSU’s Bleckley Inn of Court, and in 2018 was elected to the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors, where she serves on the Bar’s Advisory Committee on Legislation. The recipient of the Atlanta Bar Association’s Outstanding Woman in the Profession Award for 2018, Joyce is frequently invited to speak on matters of trial practice and law practice management.

Practice Areas:

• Appeals
• Business Litigation
• Complex Civil Litigation
• Corporate Governance, Director and Officer Liability, Shareholder Disputes
• Employment Law
• Insurance Disputes
• Litigation
• Professional Liability

Education:

• Georgia State University College of Law, J.D., 1999
• Wake Forest University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1993

Admissions:

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
• Supreme Court of Georgia
• Court of Appeals of Georgia
• All Georgia trial courts

Professional Associations & Memberships: