Atlanta, GA — On December 4, 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution (GCDR/Commission) welcomed three new appointees: Senior Judge Jack Partain, Judge Quinn Kasper, and Margaret (Peggy) Roth. During a meeting at the Mercer University School of Law, Justice John J. Ellington administered the oaths and welcomed the new members, all Registered Neutrals, to the Commission.
Senior Judge Jack Partain is a native of Atlanta, spending the last 44 years as a resident of Dalton. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve, former District Attorney, and has a created a number of service-forward legal initiatives, including: the Victim-Witness Assistance Program; The GreenHouse, an advocacy center for children victimized by crime; the Conasauga Drug Court; and was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal in 2012 to chair the newly created Accountability Court Funding Committee. Judge Partain was elected to serve as Administrative Judge for the 7th Judicial Administrative District in 2015 and has served on the Judicial Council of Georgia.
(L-R) Chief Judge M. Cindy Morris, GCDR Chair; Peggy Roth; Judge Quinn Kasper; Senior Judge Jack Partain; Tracy B. Johnson, GODR Executive Director; and Judge Carrie B. Markham, GCDR Chair-Elect
Senior Judge Jack Partain is a native of Atlanta, spending the last 44 years as a resident of Dalton. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve, former District Attorney, and has a created a number of service-forward legal initiatives, including: the Victim-Witness Assistance Program; The GreenHouse, an advocacy center for children victimized by crime; the Conasauga Drug Court; and was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal in 2012 to chair the newly created Accountability Court Funding Committee. Judge Partain was elected to serve as Administrative Judge for the 7th Judicial Administrative District in 2015 and has served on the Judicial Council of Georgia.
(L-R) Chief Judge M. Cindy Morris, GCDR Chair; Peggy Roth; Judge Quinn Kasper; Senior Judge Jack Partain; Tracy B. Johnson, GODR Executive Director; and Judge Carrie B. Markham, GCDR Chair-Elect
Judge Quinn Kasper was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in Cobb County in 2017 and practiced in private civil and probate firms until 2021. Judge Kasper established Kasper & Kasper PC in 2021 and began serving as a mediator and Guardian ad Litem in Cobb County Probate Court. She is currently a mediator and arbitrator specializing in civil and probate matters. She served as the President of the Georgia Council of Magistrate Court Judges from 2021 to 2022, and was also awarded the Georgia Magistrate Judge of the Year. Along with the Judicial Council of Georgia, Judge Kasper has served in various roles for several councils and committees, including the Magistrate Court Training Council of which she currently serves.
Peggy Roth is an experienced mediator and arbitrator specializing in domestic, probate, personal injury, civil, eldercare, and juvenile cases. She has extensive experience in family matters and employment issues and has mediated domestic and EEOC cases for the last 14 years and has worked as a panel arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for the last 10 years.
Both Ms. Donovan and Ms. Heard were praised for their many years of selfless service to the Commission; Ms. Donovan had served on GCDR since 2014, and Ms. Heard had served on GCDR since 2009 (and as Chair of the extremely effective Committee on Training & Credentials since 2010).
(L-R) Chief Judge Cindy Morris; Melissa C. Heard, M.S.S.W; Mary S. Donovan, Esq.; Tracy B. Johnson; and Judge Carrie B. Markham
The appointments of Senior Judge Partain, Judge Quinn Kasper, and Peggy Roth fill the vacancies of outgoing members Mary S. Donovan, Esq., former Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Mercer Law School, and Melissa C. Heard, M.S.S.W, Executive Director of the Justice Center of Atlanta.
Both Ms. Donovan and Ms. Heard were praised for their many years of selfless
service to the Commission; Ms. Donovan had served on GCDR since 2014, and Ms. Heard had served on GCDR since 2009 (and as Chair of the extremely effective Committee on Training & Credentials since 2010).
(L-R) Chief Judge Cindy Morris; Melissa C. Heard, M.S.S.W; Mary S. Donovan, Esq.; Tracy B. Johnson; and Judge Carrie B. Markham
For more information on the Commission, please click here.