Empowering Lives through Law: A Conversation with Georgia Nixon, a Respected Attorney
In a captivating conversation, Mark Martin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Founding Dean of High Point University Law School, sits down with Georgia Nixon, a local attorney practicing in High Point. They discuss the significance of pursuing a legal education, Georgia’s impactful cases, and the importance of seeking firsthand experience in the legal field. Georgia Nixon shares her personal journey from being the go-to problem solver within her family to becoming a respected attorney. Her dedication to helping everyday people and her commitment to justice exemplify the profound impact that a legal career can have on individuals, families, and communities. Georgia Nixon’s endorsement of pursuing a legal education echoes the sentiment that law school opens doors to a myriad of opportunities and instills invaluable skills that last a lifetime.
Georgia Nixon emphasizes the wide range of opportunities that stem from a legal education.
“Law school opens up a lot of doors for people… it gives you the ability to do so much, even if you don’t practice law.”
Reflecting on her inclination to advocate for others, Nixon shares how her drive to assist others led her to pursue a career in law. She found herself in a position of always being the one that helped people. Dean Mark Martin highlights the triumph of justice in a case where Georgia Nixon’s client was acquitted, allowing her to continue her career as a nurse and positively impact the lives of others.
“I had a nurse, and she had really picked herself up by her bootstraps to get her nursing degree, had come a long way, worked for Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. And a cousin had asked her to come pick her up from a party. She went to the party to pick her up, a fight ensued, the police were called. And when the police came in, they found some drugs in the house. There were 12 to 14 people in the house, but they said the drugs were found near my nurse. There were a substantial amount of drugs, so even for the first offense, it carried an active sentence, say nothing of the fact that it would strip her of her nursing license. The district attorney’s office offered us a nice plea, but it entailed being a convicted felon, but it would allow her not to go to prison. She turned it down. She says she knew nothing of the drugs. So, we had to take it to trial. To add to it, by the time we went to trial, when they analyzed the drugs, they came up to be a higher amount than first thought, so it elevated her prison sentence by another decade. We had to take it to court, and she was found not guilty, and she’s still a nurse at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. She cried and hugged me, and that’s the reason people should go to law school.”
With that experience and others, Georgia Nixon expresses her unwavering endorsement of attending law school, emphasizing the enduring value and versatility of a legal education. Attorney Nixon also offers advice to aspiring law students, encouraging them to seek guidance from practicing attorneys and gain firsthand insights into the legal profession.
“Reach out to a local attorney… see if it’s exactly what you think it is or might be.”