Sherry V. Neal is the managing member of Neal & Wright LLC. Experienced in both the private and non-profit legal sectors, Sherry specializes in assisting families who want to grow through adoption and enjoys representing adoptive parents in all types of adoptions. Sherry is widely recognized as an expert on Title IV-E adoption assistance benefits and is a regular speaker on this topic, both in Georgia and nationally. Sherry also provides legal services in the area of estate planning, focusing on middle income estates. Through these practice areas, Sherry’s goal is to assist her clients with creating families and protecting the rights of family members, particularly those with special needs.
As an outgrowth of her adoption practice and because of her commitment to Georgia’s adoptive families, Sherry founded the Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers, Inc., and was the Charter President of that organization. She is also a Fellow in the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (///A), which allows her to work at a national level on issues affecting children and families in the adoption community. She served a term as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Family Formation Charitable Trust and is currently Immediate Past Chair of the Trust. A charitable outgrowth of ///A, the Trust provides financial assistance to those individuals and organizations seeking to create families through adoption and assisted reproductive technology, to provide educational programs in support of this mission, and to provide grants and sponsorship for innovative and meaningful family building programs.
In the legal world, Sherry is an associate member of the Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies; a member of Voice for Adoption, the HelpUsAdopt.org Adoption Professionals Council, and the Stonewall Bar Association; and on the State Bar of Georgia’s Children and the Courts Committee. She also thoroughly enjoys chairing an (almost) annual CLE program for ICLE Georgia on ethics and professionalism issues of particular interest to women attorneys. Through her law firm, Sherry enjoys having the ability to offer and supervise internships for college students interested in the law and for law students interested in small firm practice or the firm’s practice areas. She and her partner look specifically to make these opportunities available to women and minority students.
In her local community, Sherry volunteers at least one day a week in the media center at Mary Lin Elementary, volunteers regularly with the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance and Lake Claire Neighbors, and served for four years as Chair of the Mary Lin Education Foundation. Sherry currently serves as Treasurer of the Inman Middle School PTO and as Secretary on the Board of Managers for the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association, the world’s oldest and best Alumnae Association.
Sherry graduated summa cum laude from Wesleyan College, where she majored in biology, minored in philosophy, played soccer and sang in the Washboard Band. She graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she was a member of the Women Law Students Association and the Georgia Law Review (and had a whole lot of fun and met her husband and law partner).
Sherry has received numerous awards for both her professional and her personal involvement. In particular, in 2017, the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys awarded her the Amy Silberberg Award in recognition of her work on issues involving the Title IV-E adoption subsidy, grandparents raising grandchildren, and children in foster care. Sherry is also proud that, in 2004, Wesleyan College named her Outstanding Young Alumna, an award given from time to time to an alumna who has provided unique service to or had a special impact on her profession, her community, or Wesleyan.
Sherry’s partner in life and work is Daniel S. Wright. They and their children make their home in the Lake Claire neighborhood of Atlanta. In addition to spending time with her daughter and son, Sherry’s personal interests include reading, yoga, walking (especially in the Olmsted Linear Parks), travel, and riding the occasional roller coaster.
Practice areas
Sherry's practice includes all types of adoption, including finalization of agency placements, relative adoptions, stepparent adoptions, second parent adoptions, "readoption" or domestication of foreign-granted adoptions, and other domestic or international adoption matters. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to adoption and Title IV-E adoption assistance benefits.
22 years
Sherry's estate planning practice focuses on middle income estates and special needs trusts, including assisting clients with advance directives, powers of attorney, and designations of standby guardians.
17 years
Languages spoken
English
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
GA | Active Member in Good Standing | 1999 | 12/21/2020 |
Award name | Grantor | Date granted |
---|---|---|
Award of Achievement | State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division | 2010 |
Award of Achievement | State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division | 2008 |
Award of Achievement | State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division | 2005 |
Outstanding Alumna | Monroe Academy | 2005 |
Power of One Volunteer Award | AARP Georgia | 2005 |
Outstanding Young Alumna | Wesleyan College | 2004 |
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Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Director, Grandparent/Relative Caregiver Project | Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. | 2001 - 2005 |
Associate | Kilpatrick Stockton LLP | 1999 - 2001 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Family Formation Charitable Trust | Vice Chair | 2016 - Present |
National Council for Adoption - National Adoption League | N/A | 2015 - Present |
Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Board of Managers | VP Admissions | 2015 - Present |
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys | Fellow | 2014 - Present |
Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers | Fellow | 2010 - Present |
State Bar of Georgia Children & the Courts Committee | N/A | N/A |
---|---|---|
Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies | Associate Member | N/A |
Stonewall Bar Association | N/A | N/A |
Voice for Adoption | N/A | N/A |
Georgia Council of Adoption Lawyers, Inc. | President | 2010 - 2012 |
Publication name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Kids Matter: Child Protection and Advocacy Law Section | A Potential Client Contacted Me About an Adoption… Now What? | 2014 |
Georgia Bar Journal | Getting to Give: Strategies to Maximize Your Impact in the Community | 2006 |
American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, Children’s Rights Litigation Committee Newsletter | To Grandmother’s House We Go: Children in Kinship Care | 2004 |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
University of Georgia | J.D. | 1999 |
Wesleyan College | B.A. | 1996 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Pursuing Higher Learning in the Majestic Rocky Mountains | Understanding Subsidy and SSI | 2016 |
Doing Well and Being Well in the Law CLE | Doing Well and Being Well While Balancing It All: Managing Work and Personal Commitments | 2016 |
ICLE Webinar | If Only the Day Had 36 Hours: Balancing Work and Personal Commitments Without Committing Malpractice | 2015 |
How'd You Do That? CLE | How’d You Work Full Time and Raise Kids? | 2014 |
DeKalb County National Adoption Celebration | Keynote Speaker | 2014 |
Adoption CLE | Adoption Assistance | 2014 |
---|---|---|
Show Me the Money! | Adoption Benefits and Other Resources for Adopted Children | 2013 |
Adoption Law CLE | Understanding Different Adoption Options, Overcoming Obstacles to Interstate Adoptions, and Following Ethical Guidelines in Adoption Law | 2013 |
Staying Connected: A Professional Development Seminar | Connecting with Your Inner Business Owner: A Crash Course in Running Your Own Practice | 2012 |
Adoption Law CLE | Requirement of a Preplacement Home Study in Third-Party Adoptions | 2012 |
CLE Seminar | Adoption Law Start to Finish | 2011 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2011 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2010 |
Annual Meeting of the State Bar of Georgia | Hanging Out a Shingle – Practical And Professionalism Tips for the New Lawyer on How to Get Started and Successfully Keep Going | 2009 |
Adoption Law CLE | The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act, Its Impact of the Act on Adoptions in Georgia, and Adoption Assistance Benefits in Georgia | 2008 |
Mid-Year Meeting of the State Bar of Georgia: Hanging Out a Shingle | How to Enhance Your Solo Practice Through Pro Bono Work and Community Service; and Crunching the Numbers: How to Identify (and Pay!) Start-Up Costs | 2007 |
Getting Off on the Right Foot – Practice Management for Starting and Growing a Law Practice | Hanging Out A Shingle: Practical Tips On How To Get Started and Successfully Keep Going | 2007 |
North American Council on Adoptable Children 31st Annual Conference | It’s All Relative: Adoption and Other Services to Help Children Raised by Relatives | 2005 |
National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Symposium | Does Legal Status Matter? Guardianship, Custody & Adoption | 2005 |
National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Symposium | Financial Assistance for Grandparents: TANF, Social Security, Medicaid, Housing, & Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2005 |
National Association of Social Workers Annual Conference | Legal Options and Public Benefits for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren | 2005 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2005 |
Child Welfare League of America National Adoption Law Training Conference | Relatively Speaking: Addressing the Unique Needs of Kinship Caregivers through Adoption and Support Services | 2004 |
Metro Juvenile Law Seminar | Representing the Relative Caregiver in a Deprivation Action: Basic Information You Need to Know | 2003 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2003 |
AARP National Aging & Law Conference | Legal Services to Address the Growing Needs of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren | 2003 |
Unsealing Records CLE | Obtaining Adoption Records and Original Birth Certificates Post-Adoption | 2002 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Appeals | 2002 |
Adoption Law CLE | Adoption Assistance Benefits | 2001 |
Case name | Outcome |
---|---|
Relative Adoption | Adoption granted |
Same-Sex Parents Adoption | Adoption granted |
Domestication of Foreign-Granted Adoption ("Re-adoption") | Adoption granted |
Stepparent Adoption | Adoption granted |
Posted by Joe
Sat Feb 10 2018
Posted by Erin T.
Mon May 07 2012
Bryndis Roberts, Adoption Attorney on Nov 14, 2017
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Sherry is extremely intelligent and very compassionate. She works tirelessly to address the needs of her clients. I endorse her wholeheartedly and without reservation.
Barbara Katz, Adoption Attorney on Apr 4, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Sherry Neal is highly experienced in the area of adoption law. I often call upon Sherry's advice for complex issues in adoption, especially related to Adoption Assistance.
Josie Redwine, Adoption Attorney on Nov 12, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer. Sherry is caring, compassionate and extremely knowledgeable.
Amy Fox, Adoption Attorney on Aug 27, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I have known Sherry Neal for several years and have consulted with her on multiple adoption cases. She is dedicated and committed to her clients and ultimately, to the children who benefit from her work.
Marilyn Hamilton, Adoption Attorney on Dec 17, 2011
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer. For a number of years when I worked in DeKalb Superior Court reviewing family law/adoption/guardian ad litem issues, Sherry Neal provided conscientious and high-quality legal work.
Michael Geoffroy, Adoption Attorney on Oct 28, 2009
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Sherry is a leader in her community and excellent attorney for adoption issues. She is who I call for legal questions about adoption. Sherry also works tirelessly in pro bono projects and community service.
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