About

About

How We Are Different

When clients choose to do business with The Fairell Firm, they are in for a life changing experience. Gone are the days of antiquated lawyers with outdated tactics and poor customer service fueled by avoiding the client. At The Fairell Firm we do law differently and most importantly we treat our clients differently. The Fairell Firm difference starts with the notion that our clients are more than just a client. Clients of The Fairell Firm become a member of our team as we work together to fight for positive outcomes by using knowledge, strategy and preparation. We understand that our clients are going through what is likely the most difficult time in their life so we treat them with compassion and empathy. We believe that it is important to have an open communication relationship with our clients and we foster that belief by ensuring that every phone call and email is returned in a timely manner. Our clients never have to wonder what is happening with their case because we provide an online client portal where staff and the client can both upload and download documents, keep track of upcoming court dates, and send chat messages or emails to our team. In addition to our online portal options, The Fairell Firm provides a modern and welcoming office space for the client to come into the office when needed. Further, we believe that it is important for clients to know how their money is being used, so we ensure that our clients get a monthly invoice that details everything that has been done on their case. Our personal Injury clients receive frequent phone calls just to check on their treatment plans and overall well-being. Personal Injury clients of The Fairell Firm actually know their attorney, unlike what clients experience at big firms that advertise all over the radio.

The Fairell Firm difference is also rooted deeply in case preparation from the very beginning, whether is a custody case or an auto accident. When our team (client included) steps into a courtroom or a mediation office we are ready and fully prepared for the task ahead. We believe that being prepared is the key to success. Our clients can rest assured knowing that their lawyer knows their case and has listened to their concerns throughout the pendency of the litigation. We fight aggressively but respectfully for our clients and we pride ourselves on our supreme second to none reputation.

Lastly, The Fairell Firm difference is our dedication to changing the legal industry case by case by pushing the standard of representation to a level of excellence.


The Fairell Four – Core Values

1. Service

Dedicated to a standard of excellence in client treatment and satisfaction by always ensuring empathy, warm and welcome interactions, consistent communication and client updates.

2. Knowledge

Committed to dominating the legal industry by obtaining and maintaining the new changes and developments to laws in our areas of practice.

3. Quality

Providing reputable and ethical representation that yields excellence in and out of the courtroom.

4. Results

Zealously advocating our client interests while pursuing their desired outcome.

As a child, in my generation the “go to” answer when asked what you wanted to be when you grew up was always a doctor or a lawyer. I had settled in my kid-like mind that I would be a doctor. I never knew a doctor nor had I ever looked into what it took […]

Joi Fairell

Elizabeth Davenport

Attorney

“The race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong, but to the one who endures until the end.”


Elizabeth Davenport was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent most of her childhood moving from state to state. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia at a young age and considers it to be her second home. She is one of seven children on her mother’s side and one of twelve on her father’s side. This large family dynamic gave Elizabeth great insight at a very young age of how families work and operate with many moving parts.


After earning her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University, she took some time off to work at the Georgia State Capitol for Stacy Abrams. Elizabeth later relocated to Ohio, where she received her Juris Doctorate at Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law.  Throughout law school, she was very active on campus and in the community.  She was a member of various student organizations such as the Student Bar Association, Business Law Society, Black Law Student Association, Environmental Law Society, Flag Football Team, and High School Mock Trial Coach.


Elizabeth has dedicated a great amount of time to externing and working for various pro bono programs and legal clinics in Ohio, Georgia, and Illinois, offering legal assistance to those who could not afford legal services.  The law school presented her with the “Pro Bono Award” for her time and dedication. She has been a Mock Trial coach for many years and teams have won a number of awards over the years.


Throughout her academic career, Elizabeth has completed several study abroad programs in Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the UK.  She has traveled to and lived in many countries around the world for work, study, and pleasure such as Jamaica, Canada, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ireland, and UK/England just to name a few; even spending time in Japan studying the stock market.


After graduating from law school, Elizabeth went on to work for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Fulton County Superior Court, and several personal injury firms.  She then went on Sabbatical and moved to China. While in China she worked as an English teacher for Chinese students and teachers. She also coordinated and taught various extracurricular activities such as dance, drama, and basketball to further enrich each of these student’s experiences.  While in China/Hong Kong, she also worked as an International Business Immigration Consultant and Program Manager and practiced International Business Immigration Law in Canada and the US.


Elizabeth has experience in a variety of types of law including Family Law, International Family Law, Criminal Law, Juvenile Criminal Law, Veteran Law, Personal Injury, International Business Immigration Law, Bankruptcy Law - Chapters 7 and 13.  Elizabeth is licensed to practice in Georgia and Washington D.C., as well as the Federal Bankruptcy Courts.

Elizabeth Davenport

Shaneah Jenkins

Attorney

From the time I was in middle school I knew I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. My childhood best friend's father was a criminal defense attorney and inspired me greatly. Being able to hear his fascinating stories, see his passion for his work and the impact he made on his clients made me want that for myself. However, I had no idea at that age what it really took to get there. Fast forward to high school, I started to question whether being a lawyer was really for me. I couldn’t wait to graduate and dreaded the idea of being in school for 7 more years. After high school, due to financial issues, I decided to take a semester off to work and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. During that time both my paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather passed away showing me that life is too short, and I decided to start my journey to become an attorney. After studying hard, having sleepless nights and multiple breakdowns, I did just that in 2017 when I passed both the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bar Exams. 


While in both undergraduate and law school, I had the opportunity to work in a civil law firm. Although this was confirmation that I was meant to be a lawyer I realized that working for big banks and corporations provided me with very little satisfaction and enjoyment. After a year of being an attorney, I decided to relocate from Boston to Atlanta to pursue my career as a criminal prosecutor. After working around the clock for  years, I realized my passion was for litigation and helping people not necessarily for criminal prosecution. By coincidence,  I met Attorney Joi Fairell and her family, and she told me about her firm. After meeting her I researched The Fairell Firm and hoped that one day I would be fortunate enough to work for her. After a few months passed, while searching for a new position I came across an attorney posting for the Fairell Firm. After going back and looking at it every day for at least a week I decided to take a leap of faith and apply, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen for an interview.


While preparing for the interview I hoped that I made a positive impression on Attorney Fairell and that she would remember me. Sure enough, she did and I was offered a position as an Associate Attorney. After hearing about the great work that The Fairell Firm does in the courtroom, the family atmosphere, and the innovativeness I accepted her offer without hesitation. I now know first hand that all the great things I heard about the firm are indeed true.  I am beyond blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a great team who truly go above and beyond to provide excellent service for our clients and a family atmosphere for the staff members.

Shaneah Jenkins

Shanna Diamond

Attorney and Mediator

In the journey of our lives, there are people, events, and circumstances that shape who we are and who we are destined to be.  It is these things that awaken the beasts in us, show us what we’re made of, and lead us to our passions.  Even in the instances when we lose our way, we always can be lead back to home.


In the year 1995, I met Clair Huxtable.  She was a strong, beautiful, intelligent, hard working woman and mother.  Claire was an attorney who juggled a successful career with family life effortlessly.  I wanted to be her.  I admired her strength and intelligence.  She was the first attorney I’d ever known of.  Of course she was a fictional character on the television series, “The Cosby Show”, but my eyes lit up whenever I saw her.  I soaked in everything she did and knew that was the kind of woman I wanted to be.  From then on every time I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was easy: “a lawyer”.  Every career day my mother had me dressed in my best business suit with my toy briefcase in tow, and you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t a lawyer!


In 2007, I met a small but mighty judge in my hometown of Albany, GA.  I began working in his private practice office as an intern while I completed my undergraduate degree.  I worked diligently and learned as much as I could.  I gained working knowledge of the practice of criminal law, family law, and personal injury.  This judge noticed my drive, perseverance, and work ethic and became my mentor.  When the time was right, I was hired as a legal assistant.  I worked my way up the chain, and at one point, was the sole employee handling everything from office management to paralegal duties all alone.  I am still to date his highest paid legal assistant in the history of his practice, due to my hard work and negotiating skills.


I left the judge’s office after completing my master’s degree to strike out on my own as a business owner.  I created my own corporation, established a business, and worked it well, all while maintaining a household and raising a son.  During the course of these years, life happened.  My then marriage fell apart, my second son was stillborn, and my financial stability suffered greatly in the wake of divorce and medical expenses.


Throughout it all, I continued to fight.  I refused to give up.  I became a woman surviving: handling a household, raising a son, running a business, battling foreclosure, and working to provide….all alone.  And I emerged victorious.


In 2014, I had the privilege of being reintroduced to my first passion.  I received a phone call and was asked to come back to the judge’s law office to help run the practice and get it back in shape.  As I stepped foot back in that office, began working with my mentor again, and began engaging with clients again…. the fire in me was rekindled.  I realized what my passion was and what I was built for.  My heart was back at home.  I enrolled in law school, packed up my belongings, and my son and I were off to begin the life we were destined to live.  During my law school tenure, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to obtain my mediation certification.


I believe I was destined to be an attorney.  I was created to help others and be an advocate for justice.  I was shaped and formed in power and humility.  Because I’m a boy mom, to put it in Spider Man’s words, “with great power comes great responsibility.”  After having walked through the fire in my own personal life, having felt for myself what the heat of the flames feel like, I am uniquely positioned to help my clients make it through their own fires.  It is my duty to do for others as some have done for me, with compassion, understanding, and a fight that just won’t quit.  My goal is to walk with my clients through the fire and encourage them that life does not end where you are.  I encourage my clients that your best life is yet to be lived.  How do I know?  I’ve lived it.


I am a fighter, an overcomer, and a conqueror.  Becoming an attorney has given me the ability to change lives, empower, help heal brokenness, and help rebuild futures.  Advocating for clients and caring for people are my ministries.  I chose long ago to dedicate my life to service as my mother, grandmother, and aunts have done before me.  I am blessed that my journey has ultimately led me to meet Joi Fairell and become a part of the Fairell Firm family where all team members share the same values, work ethic, and passion for people.  We have all dedicated our lives to the service of others, and have committed to do so excellently.

Shanna Diamond

Hannah Alexander

Office Manager

As children, we are constantly asked what we want to be when we grow up. I can only remember one thing I wanted to be, and that was a veterinarian. I love animals and caring for them, so I thought it would be a fantastic career. Of course, in my child-like eyes, hanging out with puppies all day didn’t sound like a bad way to earn a living. Fast forward to my junior year in high school, where I was offered an opportunity to intern at my dog’s veterinarian’s office for the summer. I absolutely loved it, and it confirmed that I was on the right path. However, once I graduated and was offered a full-time Kennel Assistant job, I soon realized my dream career and fun summer internship were not as they seemed. I did not end up liking what I did, and even though there were puppies, there were a lot of sick animals, too, and it was heartbreaking. I could have gotten used to all that, but when I started college, chemistry was the death sentence to my once-cherished dream of being a veterinarian. I continued going to school, but without a major, I was now in young adult limbo.


During this time, I met a guy who had a daughter from a previous relationship. I quickly learned the complex structure of a split family when mixed with the legal system. He was in the middle of a custody battle; this was my first exposure to family law. I was only 19 and working on my paralegal degree. I took what I knew and jumped into helping him with his case. He had hired a lawyer well before I came into the picture, but it was evident that his lawyer was not doing anything with the case, so I decided to help him look for a new law firm.


One of my professors highly recommended The Fairell Firm. When we met with The Fairell Firm, I was impressed by them, and the firm was impressed by what I had done with his case. The day after we met about that case, I received a call asking if I was interested in interning for the firm. The firm went on to win that custody case, and I progressed from an intern to paralegal and now office manager since joining the firm in 2016.


During my time at the firm, I have worked directly with Attorney Fairell on creating a client experience founded in excellence. Each day it is our mission to serve every client and every case with care and expertise. I have loved seeing the firm grow and set standards of excellence over the years.

Hannah Cerda

Benjamin Delija

Director of Client Engagement

I joined The Fairell Firm team as a Paralegal in 2022 as the first male employee in the history of the firm.   


Born amid a civil war that broke up former Yugoslavia, my family and I sought refuge from the horrors of the time and immigrated to the United States. With no more than a suitcase each, we embarked on a journey to start a new life. My childhood in this country was quite different from that of others’; while other children were playing outside, I remember translating documents related to banks, immigration, and other important documents a child had no business reading. At 8 years old, I was writing checks and helping my parents with their taxes. Although I would probably have preferred playing outside, I knew that my parents needed me and that I had a responsibility to come through for them.


As I grew older, I had no doubt that my purpose in life is to serve the community by being this beacon. Since I enjoyed simplifying complicated processes, I felt I had the responsibility to share this passion and knowledge with the community. During my senior year at Georgia State University, I began interning with the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). It was a perfect fit to fulfill my need to explain complicated processes. I mastered all functions of the agency and quickly became the office manager for one of the biggest child support offices in the state.



After 5 years of progressing that County DCSS office to one of the most efficient offices in the state, I realized that the DCSS process is flawed, overburdened, and that the only way to improve the process in totality is to adjust the laws. I was tired of speaking to clients whose cases were not being worked sufficiently, who were told the only way to see progress is if they obtained a private attorney. This was when I realized that the best way for me to continue to help my community was to join the legal field in a private capacity. I began working as a corporate paralegal helping businesses navigate the rules and regulations of owning a business, and quickly transitioned back into family law when I came across the Fairell Firm. I instantly realized that this firm accepts nothing less than excellent which is exactly what the community needs in the realm of family law. My passion and skills are perfectly aligned with the firm’s goal and ultimately our community will benefit the most.

Benjamin Delija
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