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Anissa Patton is an attorney and Child Welfare Law Specialist with more than 19 years of experience providing effective legal representation and assistance to children and families. Anissa’s legal career has been dedicated to public service. She has served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Public Defender, college professor, and advocate for children.

Anissa received her J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 2001. While attending law school, Anissa worked as a Legal Intern with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and with Cleveland State’s Employment Law Clinic. Anissa passed the Ohio bar in 2001, and briefly served as counsel to a burgeoning temporary employment agency.

In 2002, Anissa joined the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. As an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Anissa prosecuted adults and juvenile delinquents under Ohio’s compulsory education laws and represented the Lorain County Department of Children Services until 2004.

Anissa was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Anissa joined the Office of the Griffin Judicial Circuit Public Defender and represented juveniles in criminal matters and parents/custodians in Dependency cases. Anissa joined the Office of the Child Attorney in 2006 as a Senior Attorney where she represents the legal interests of children in Dependency cases and on all collateral legal matters related to the dependency cases.

In 2018, Anissa received the Hon. Willie J. Lovett, Jr. Award for Outstanding Service to Children and in 2019, Anissa received the Chief Justice P. Harris Hines Child Advocacy Award for Outstanding Attorney from the Georgia Supreme Court’s Committee on Justice for Children.  Most recently, Anissa was selected by the American Bar Association as the Fearless Children’s Lawyer of the Month for October, 2020 because of her advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care.  

Anissa enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering in her community, and reading anything written by her favorite author, Stephen King in her spare time.