February’s alumni Zoom social is intended for Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) alumni only. Please only RSVP if you are an alumnus of the Law School. See you there!
Tag: alumni
2007 Alumnus, AJ Doucett, Named Director of Alumni Relations for Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) and the John Marshall Law School Alumni Association proudly announce that AJ Doucett, Class of 2007, has been named the new Director of Alumni Relations at the Law School. As a long-time employee of the Law School, he is a known champion of the AJMLS community and students. During his law school graduation, he was awarded the John Marshall Law School Award for Outstanding Service to the School & Community. His enthusiasm and passion for his alma mater is the perfect match for his appointment as Director.
Prior to moving to Atlanta, Doucett always knew he wanted to be an attorney. He attended a high school magnet law program, participated in mock trial teams, and was one of the first teenage student-attorneys in the Duval County Teen Court Program. After graduating from the University of North Florida, he enrolled at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. During his time at AJMLS he was the Vice-Justice of Phi Alpha Delta, President of the International Law Society, and President of ATLA. During his second year he started working at the Law School Library at the circulation desk then moved to the sixth floor working in the library technical services department.
While preparing for the bar exam and waiting for results, Doucett continued to work in the library and began managing the student workers and supporting the library research assistance. After successfully passing the Georgia Bar Exam, his previous experience with research assistance led to the Library Director offering him his first job as a Legal Research and Reference Librarian. While he intended for the position to be short-term, he enjoyed working with the students so much that he held the post for twelve years.
When asked about his time at AJMLS, he said,
“My passion for serving AJMLS as a student has carried over into my job as I have enjoyed working with and helping our students become better legal researchers. As the students have come through the library, I have been able to get to know so many of them over the years. This has been such a privilege and the ability to reconnect with those students that are now alumni is what excites me the most about being named the Director of Alumni Relations.”
Over the past three months, the Law School has hosted numerous virtual alumni events where Doucett and others have been able to connect and enjoy time together. He went on to say that “While I look forward to continuing these virtual events, I cannot wait to start planning in-person events. I am excited to reestablish our Alumni Association that is comprised of so many amazing graduates. I look forward to hosting class reunions, getting our alumni connected with our current students, and getting our students connected with our outstanding alumni so they can see what they can achieve as an AJMLS graduate.”
Doucett is particularly interested in what the school can do to help its alumni. He is committed to supporting them maintain a lifelong relationship with their alma mater while also supporting the Alumni Association’s mission.
AJ Doucett welcomes all alumni and friends to connect with him at adoucett@johnmarshall.edu – he’d like to know each person personally and connect or reconnect them with their school!
Congratulations on this exciting move, AJ! The Law School is looking forward to all the wonderful things you have planned for the Alumni Association.
2010 Alumnus, Judge Vincent A. Lotti, Appointed to State Court of Henry County
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) congratulates Judge Vincent A. Lotti, Class of 2010, for his recent appointment to the State Court of Henry County. Judge Lotti will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ernest Blount in February. Previously, he had been serving as a Henry County magistrate judge.
At the Law School, Lotti served as both a Peer Mentor and a Student Ambassador, and was a three time Dean’s Award recipient and member of the moot court team. He found that the first two positions allowed him to help younger students get acclimated to law school and the final activity allowed him to be a representative of the law school while gaining “real world” experience. A notable achievement at AJMLS was when he and his moot court team placed in the top four at a national pre-trial competition in Florida.
Judge Lotti is a lifelong resident of Henry County, graduated from Union County High School, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from The University of Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Judge Lotti went back to his hometown to take a job with the Henry County Juvenile Court as a probation officer. This was his first experience with the legal world and courtroom and he fell in love. After over two years as a juvenile probation officer, he decided to return to law school and enrolled at AJMLS.
When asked of his experience in the juvenile courts, he noted:
“My experience at Juvenile Court made me feel as though I could help more people as their attorney and at the end of the day that was my goal, to help people.”
After graduating from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Judge Lotti entered private practice and founded his own practice representing clients in criminal cases and family law. This allowed him to meet numerous attorneys and citizens in his county that he did previously know from his upbringing. In 2018, he ran for an open State Court seat but ultimately lost the election. However, he noted that he had a great showing and this led him to be appointed as an associate Magistrate Court Judge.
Judge Lotti said of his magistrate appointment,
“A big reason the Magistrate Court job opened up for me was because of how I treated everyone, including my opponents, during the election. I refused to engage in “dirty politics” and kept everything above board. In fact, my opponent was with the Magistrate Court at the time of the election, became a dear friend throughout the campaign, and was extremely helpful to me as I sought an appointment from the Governor. Ultimately, it all boiled down to treating people the right way.”
The Law School wholeheartedly agrees with his final remarks of his interview, when he said,
“It costs nothing, no money nor effort, to be kind to people. Follow the ‘Golden Rule’ and treat people how you wish to be treated and you will be amazed at how far life will take you.”
The Law School is incredibly proud of Judge Lotti’s service to the community and outstanding ethics and we look forward to celebrating his continued success.