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Dr. William Leamon Madison alleged race discrimination and retaliation in a lawsuit filed by Williams Oinonen LLC, which was featured on the news here and here and here and here and here and here.

Dr. Madison, former Principal at Colquitt County Schools is alleging race discrimination and retaliation having lost his job after he spoke out against racial injustice in an email to his staff shortly after the murder of George Floyd. The EEOC is concurrently investigating this matter.

Dr. Madison was a hometown hero in Colquitt County, graduating as a star football athlete, then working his way up for nearly two decades from a paraprofessional all the way to Principal. For the past 17 years of his entire career, Dr. Madison received good performance evaluations. All of that changed after Dr. Madison sent an email to his teachers and staff Cox Elementary after the murder of George Floyd. In his email, Dr. Madison encouraged the staff to be supportive of students, as well as speaking out against racial injustice in a positive affirming way. The superintendent summoned Dr. Madison to his office. The superintendent informed Dr. Madison that several school board members were upset at his email and called for his job. Emboldened, a teacher told Dr. Madison, “We’re going to lynch you.” Dr. Madison reported this hate crime to the central office only to be told he could write the teacher up. Three days later, the board decided to terminate Dr. Madison’s employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in addition to other federal civil rights laws prohibiting race discrimination and retaliation.

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Check out Atlanta Women’s Magazine this month’s feature article.

Ms. Oinonen was asked by Atlanta Women’s Magazine: “Which woman inspires you and why?” to which she responded:

“Women lawyers who have gone into public service in either the executive, legislative, or judicial branches have inspired me. People like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg to name just a few….I think the trick is finding the good in others that you can seek to emulate while learning to avoid shortcomings and mistakes. All of us have good/bad, strength/weaknesses and we can all learn from each other… the women that are a part of our law firm are an incredible inspiration to me. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with Esther, Muna, Michele, and Chanel. We all make a great team.”

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After an intense three day OSAH hearing before the Administrative Law Judge, Good Georgia Education Lawyer obtained a win for educators in a PSC (Georgia Professional Standards Commission case) that was prosecuted by the Attorney General for the State of Georgia.

In the ALJ’s decision which can be read here, the Court completely reversed the Georgia Professional Standards Commission to revoke the educator’s license certification.

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For a seventh year in a row, Julie Oinonen, Managing Partner of Williams Oinonen LLC, was an Honoree for her work in the Georgia legal community this 2021 year and named as a Georgia 2021 Super Lawyer. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to Super Lawyers each year. To read this year’s Georgia Super Lawyer 2021 magazine see here.

Ms. Oinonen’s practice encompasses all plaintiff’s side work including employment, civil rights, education, personal injury and business litigation matters. She is an active board member of National Employment Lawyer’s Association of Georgia, a civil rights organization made up of Employment Litigation lawyers who advocate for employee rights. Her cases involve civil rights, employment, and wrongful death/serious injury claims. A proud Emory Law alumna, she is on the Alumni Board of Emory Law School, an Executive Committee member of the Emory Inn of Court, and is a faculty instructor at Emory University School of Law’s Trial Techniques program.

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Williams Oinonen LLC had the privilege of representing Dr. Lana Foster in several race discrimination and employment matters. Her case was settled with the EEOC and in addition to the monetary settlement, requires her former employer to establish a recruitment plan for increasing the number of qualified Black applicants, to create a hiring and recruitment procedure that will incorporate nondiscriminatory hiring practices, and to institute professional training relating to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Said Dr. Foster: “I couldn’t let a day go by without thanking God for what you have done for my family and me! Thank you for giving me the best gifts ever–my name back, my livelihood, my self respect, the five lawsuit wins, and my life along with a bonus price tag. No amount of money could ever replace what you have done for me! For your brilliant attorney skills, services, dedictation I am forever grateful and in debt! Thank you for believing in me and fighting my battle! My prayer for you is for God to continually “Bless” you and your family forever. Thank you for being my lawyer as well as my friend! Please let your husband know he has a true “Gem diamond” that God has truly blessed this world with and that is YOU! Forever Grateful, Lana Foster.”

For more information on the lawsuit, see here. If you have been subject to race discrimination, do not hesitate to contact our law firm today at 404-654-0288.

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A long, hard battle to protect the rights of an educator falsely charged with wrongdoing at Clayton County Schools paid off when the tribunal voted to reject the recomendation of the Superintendent’s adverse action against a young teacher who was doing his best to do his job ethically and competently in the face of adversity.

Williams Oinonen LLC is proud to represent hard working educators all around South Georgia, North Georgia and in between. We especially consider it a privilege to represent Georgia Association of Educators members as well as an attorney affiliate. Stated the educator in response to his victory: “Wow!!! You are totally amazing!!! Thank you so much for all of your hard work and expertise.”

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Michael Dashawn Moore was only 19 years old shot and killed during a traffic stop by Mobile Police officer Harry Hurst in 2016 when, according to witnesses, he had his hands up. Officer Hurst claimed he had a weapon which no one could find at the scene.

Williams Oinonen LLC obtained a recent ruling in a case that sparked protests in Mobile, Alabama, in 2016 and continues to generate controversy, where the federal judge has added to a significant body of case law holding that police officers accused of shooting citizens are not automatically protected by the doctrine of qualified immunity, which has so often derailed civil lawsuits seeking damages.

This is a big win in the case for obtaining justice for our client, Michael Moore’s family. For more information you can read the story here.

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Williams Oinonen LLC client, Project South, is representing a whistleblower who received allegations of abusive practices at the Irwin County Detention Center that violate the human rights of these immigrant women. Project South’s staff attorney Project South’s Priyanka Bhatt remarked that: “For years, advocates in Georgia have raised red flags about the human rights violations occurring inside the Irwin County Detention Center. Ms. Wooten’s whistleblowing disclosures confirm what detained immigrants have been reporting for years: gross disregard for health and safety standards, lack of medical care, and unsanitary living conditions at Irwin….We call on DHS to conduct an investigation into the Irwin County Detention Center in order to protect the health and safety of the detained immigrants and the workers there.”

Williams Oinonen LLC is proud to represent human rights organizations that promote movement building like Project South. Project South is rooted in the legacy of the Southern Freedom Movement, and has a mission of cultivating strong social movements in the South powerful enough to contend with some of the most pressing and complicated social, economic, and political problems we face today. For more information on our client’s important work, see here.

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Georgia Education Attorney wins a recent State Board of Education decision for an educator. Said Ms. Tonya Angeli, a local educator in Polk County Schools North Georgia: “I was truly honored to have you represent me and speak on my behalf, you were amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better person. I’m honored to know you. This world needs more women and people like you. Thank you for caring so much about my family and me.”

Sboe Decision-case No. 2020-23 Ada by Julie Oinonen-Williams on Scribd

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Williams Oinonen LLC attorneys are proud members (and on the Board) of the National Employment Lawyers Association of Georgia, a civil rights organization made up of lawyers who represent employees. We stand behind the following statement of our organization and likewise “condemn the racist system that continues to devalue the lives of Black Americans. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd are sadly only the latest victims. Their murders, like the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955, has again brought nationwide and worldwide attention to the racial violence and injustice still so prevalent in America. We mourn the losses of these individuals’ lives and stand in solidarity with those seeking to hold the murderers accountable. Georgia’s capital, Atlanta, has long been uniquely poised to champion these rights, as the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and mecca of the modern civil rights movement. BLACK LIVES MATTER!

As employment lawyers [and civil rights lawyers] on the side of the employee, we fight to remain vigilant in the face of a judicial system that too often ignores the realities of the world we live in and the racial divide that still exists in our society today. We fight to prevent the watering down of laws that were meant to ensure justice and equal rights to all. We do not become complacent or desensitized to the world around us. We cry when our clients are denied the right to have their voices heard by a jury of their peers. We mourn every judicial decision that silently strips away the equal rights that were so hard fought by so many who have died. But we continue to fight the good fight. We call on you to get involved however possible to support an America that equally values all of its citizens. Whether that is attending a protest, writing a letter, running for office, taking out your cell phone camera or other recording device when you see/hear instances of racial wrongdoing, or discussing these issues with your friends, we encourage you to stay strong in the fight for social justice and against racial oppression.”

For more information on NELA-Ga, go to www.nela-ga.org

Contact Information
Grant Building
44 Broad Street NW Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 654-0288
Fax: 404-592-6225
Email: julie@goodgeorgialawyer.com

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