Genet M. Hopewell is a founding partner of Burroughs Johnson Hopewell, LLC. Recognized for her leadership skills by her peers, Hopewell is noted for her pioneering work to advance the goals of legal professionals in DeKalb County and for her outstanding service in the News & Events. She brings to the BJH partnership a wealth of expertise, specializing in the practice areas of Probate, Wills and Estates, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, and Worker's Compensation.

Attorney Hopewell has practiced law in DeKalb County since 1983 where she established her own firm in 1990. She merged her successful practice with the firms of long-time associates Robert A. Burroughs and Mereda Davis Johnson to form Burroughs Johnson Hopewell, LLC in July, 2007 creating the largest African American law firm in DeKalb and one of the largest in Georgia.

Attorney Hopewell’s legal career began with clerkships for Judge William Daniel in Fulton County Superior Court and with the law firm of Floyd, Howard & Ware in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1984, she became the first African American attorney to serve as in-house counsel for DeKalb County, Georgia. Prior to forming her own firm in 1990, Attorney Hopewell was associated with the law firm of Arrington & Hollowell.

In February 2007, Attorney Hopewell was appointed to the DeKalb County Public Safety & Judicial Facilities Authority by DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones. She has has been a member of DeKalb County Judicial Bench since 1988, serving as an Associate Magistrate Judge and as a part-time Recorders Court Judge and Juvenile Court Judge.

Attorney Hopewell is a past president and co-founder of the DeKalb Lawyers Association and a former member of the organization’s executive board. She also serves as a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s BASIC Committee, is a past president of the board of directors of the DeKalb Council for the Arts, and Vice-President of ARThink DeKalb. She is a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, DeKalb Bar Association and Georgia Association of African American Attorneys and the NAACP.

Ms Hopewell is a graduate of Leadership DeKalb and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. She formerly served on the DeKalb County Cable TV Advisory Board and as the Vice Chair of the DeKalb Peachtree Airport Advisory Board. She is the recipient of the DeKalb NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award and President’s Award. Attorney Hopewell was included in the 2005 edition of Who’s Who in Black Atlanta and the May 2005 edition of the Atlanta Tribune Magazine’s profile of African American Female Attorneys.

Attorney Hopewell graduated from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the Catholic University of America

Legal Experience
Hopewell & Jackson
Partner, 1994—2007

McIntosh-Hopewell & Associates
Partner, 1989—1994

Arrington & Hollowell
Associate, 1986—1988

DeKalb County Attorney’s Office
Principal Staff Attorney, 1984—1986

Floyd, Howard & Ware
Law Clerk, 1983

Judge William Daniel,
Fulton Superior Court
Law Clerk, 1982—1983

Judicial Experience
DeKalb County Juvenile Court
Pro-tem, 1988—2004

DeKalb County Recorder’s Court
Associate Judge, 1991—present

DeKalb County Magistrate Court
Associate Magistrate, 1988—1997

Activities & Honors
DeKalb Lawyers Association, Past-president, former Executive Board Member
DeKalb Bar Association
ARthink DeKalb, Vice-President
DeKalb Council for the Arts, past President of Board of Directors
State Bar of Georgia, Member, Basics Committee
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, Member
Leadership DeKalb, Class of 2002
Council of Juvenile Court Judges, Member
Certified Mediator, Magistrate Court Training Council, 1992
National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 1989
DeKalb County Cable TV, Advisory Board Member
DeKalb County Airport Advisory Board, Vice Chair
NAACP, Lifetime Member
2002 Recipient of the DeKalb NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award
1999 Recipient of the DeKalb NAACP President’s Award