Page 25 - University of Baltimore Law - Fall 2019

Joyette Holmes Makes History as Judge, D.A., in Cobb County, Georgia
Joyette Holmes, J.D. ’01, is starting to get used to being “the first.” In June 2019, she was named Cobb County District Attorney by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, making
her the first woman and the first African American to serve in the office. In her previous role, she was Chief Magistrate of the Cobb County Magistrate Court, and also the first female and first African American to hold that position.
The Georgia native says she always wanted to be a lawyer and a judge. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia before moving to Baltimore to attend UB Law. After passing the bar, she worked as a public defender in Maryland before returning to Georgia with her husband. She then worked as a prosecutor and as an assistant county solicitor in Cobb County before starting her own practice.
Holmes credits her UB Law education with preparing her for the legal career she has enjoyed so far. “A lot of my ability to grow quickly in the courtroom and as a lawyer came from the clinical experiences I received at UB Law,” she says. While a student she interned with a Baltimore County judge, clerked for a Baltimore City judge, and completed a clinic rotation in the Howard County Public Defender’s Office.
In her new role as district attorney for the Cobb Judicial Circuit, Holmes manages a $9 million budget and a staff of
over 150 in the third-largest county in Georgia, with a population of about 750,000.
Holmes is well
aware that with the
responsibilities set
before her she is
also a role model to
many. She strongly
believes in mentoring
and setting a good
example, especially
as a mother of
teenage girls.
Believing it important
to provide as many “outside of the classroom” learning experiences as possible to young people, Holmes generally says yes to any student, from middle school to law school, who asks to shadow her on the job.
“I hope that I can be a shining light to others, regardless
of their distinction, to reach their goals, whether personal or professional, and follow their journeys,” she says. —C.S.
Kevin Allis Leads Nation’s Largest Native American Advocacy Group
Growing up in Wisconsin, spending summers with his grandfather on his tribe’s Indian reservation, Kevin J. Allis, J.D. ’03, never imagined he would one day lead
the nation’s oldest, largest and most representative advocacy organization for Native Americans.
In June 2019, Allis became chief executive officer of the National Congress of American Indians. A citizen of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Allis has been representing
Native American interests in various capacities for more than a decade.
After his family moved to Maryland, Allis attended Mount Saint Joseph High School in
southwest Baltimore. After Allis graduated from college, his high school friend and UB
Law alumnus Tim Longo, J.D. ’93, then a major in the Baltimore Police Department, suggested
Allis consider joining the department and going to law school.
“I loved law enforcement. It was a very different job, but I really liked
it,” Allis says. He spent eight years on the force, and The Baltimore Sun named
him Maryland Police Officer of the Year in 2000. After passing the bar,
Allis practiced labor and employment law and litigation. It was a 2004 decision by the National Labor Relations
Board in San Manuel Bingo & Casino, which first applied the National Labor Relations Act to on-reservation tribal businesses, that prompted Allis to start advocating for the interests of Native tribes.
“That was where I really began reviving my connection to Indian country,” says Allis, who still lives in Baltimore. From 2012 to 2015 he was executive director of the Native American Contractors Association, representing the interests of Indian enterprises in the government contracting process, and then he founded a federal legislative lobbying firm, Thunderbird Strategic LLC.
Today, working out of the Embassy of Tribal Nations in Washington, D.C., Allis manages an advocacy agenda that is determined through a sophisticated process that includes the input and deliberation of hundreds of tribes across the United States, including Alaska.
“It’s so important to continue to advocate on behalf of tribes, to make sure the government is protecting their inherent and legal rights,” Allis says.
“It’s an honor, and humbling, and important for me to take this opportunity,” he continues. “This is an important time for us,” he says, “and we have to be vigilant.” —C.S.
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