Anissa Patton

Although Anissa Patton is a fearless lawyer for children every day, October is a perfect month to honor her this year! This month—and in fact, the day of her “fearless lawyer” interview—she had a big win for one of “her kids,” a client of hers who is transgender. Anissa practices in Georgia, which does not have agency policy or practice guidance on how caseworkers and other service providers should affirm and support LGBTQ youth (or even basic nondiscrimination law or policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity). She has fought tirelessly to ensure the trans clients’ identities are respected and their needs are met, including access to life-saving health care. She successfully convinced the court to order the agency to allow her client to begin hormone therapy as prescribed by his doctor, a specialist in gender-affirming health care (she even had to fight for him to see that qualified expert). Although her client had engaged in self harm and suffered from depression related to gender dysphoria, the agency had stalled and delayed and ultimately denied him access to medically necessary care for months. Her fight may not yet be over as the agency has so far refused to comply with the court’s order.

Being an advocate for children has always been Anissa’s calling. Her dad was a teacher and he dedicated himself to serving the community and working with children. After graduating with a Political Science BA from Davidson College, Anissa joined Teach for America and started teaching in Compton. After several years of teaching, she went back to school to study law and intended to practice tax law upon graduating. But her sense of purpose to represent the youth in her community was fulfilled when her first law job was in juvenile court in Ohio. As a zealous advocate, she gained her Child Welfare Law Specialist certification from the National Association of Counsel for Children and never hesitates to reach out to the broader children’s rights community to seek support for her clients. This outreach for support for her client is how she connected with a member of the ABA Children’s Rights Litigation Committee from Lambda Legal, the LGBTQ civil rights nonprofit law firm. Anissa has seen firsthand that it really does take a village.

Through her advocacy as an attorney for children with Fulton County’s Office of the Child’s Attorney, Anissa often represents LGBTQ youth. She knows that kids in foster care already get the short end of the stick and experience immense challenges, so she finds it truly heartbreaking when the state or foster parents try to “tell these kids how to love and who to love on top of everything else.” The lens that many people view LGBTQ youth through causes discrimination and maltreatment, and for Anissa, society’s “obsession with labels and identities” exacerbates this experience. She sees it as her job to eliminate this experience for her clients. A transgender girl Anissa represents was denied clothing that she wanted to wear and that allowed her to express her identity as punishment for “misbehaving.” Anissa went head to head with the agency to convince them that denying her client’s ability to be herself was emotionally damaging and inappropriate method of punishment.

Anissa frequently contends with entrenched homophobia, transphobia, and strong religious viewpoints attempting to dictate law and policy. She routinely witnesses micro-aggressions against her clients, such as using the incorrect pronoun or court reports that feature her trans clients’ given name, or “dead name,” rather than the name they use. She says even her presence as an educated and outspoken Black woman ruffles feathers with the “old guard” because she is not what they want her to be. 

But Anissa feels more and more people are coming to understand that child and family cases need to be approached differently. Her recent victory came in a court where the judge has strong background in child advocacy, and he approached her client’s case with concern, empathy, and support. She feels we need to find what is best for each child, not what society thinks is best, and this judge held that perspective, too. It didn’t hurt that Anissa helped push for training for judges in Fulton County last year on legal obligations, professional standards, and recommended practices for working with LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system.

In addition to more professionals in her field approaching each case holistically, Anissa would like to see more LGBTQ affirming foster homes approved by Georgia. The law is set up in such a way that it is very difficult for same-sex couples or other families whose beliefs systems differ from the state to get approved. Without more of these welcoming and open-minded placements available to the large number of LGBTQ youth in the system, children are placed in homes where sometimes, inadvertently or purposefully, the family tries to change the youth to fit their idea of the norm. This can be more direct in some faith-based group homes which engage in so-called “conversion” therapy.

With all the challenges Anissa confronts on behalf of the youth she represents, she radiates positive energy. It’s easy for her to remain fearless when working with wonderful clients, she says. And nothing moves her more than hearing from a child or parent years after a case to be thanked and to learn how well they are doing. It is so clear that LGBTQ youth (and all youth!) in Fulton County are fortunate to have a fearless lawyer like Anissa in their corner. 

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