The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association announced new selections for its Leadership Education & Advanced Direction (LEAD) program.

“Each year, the GTLA LEAD Program provides remarkable young attorneys with the opportunity to learn from and engage with some of our state's best and brightest minds through a series of educational and networking events,” Mike Prieto, president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, said in a news release Wednesday. “These individuals, who have already proven their leadership acumen with their program acceptance, will undoubtedly serve well as future leaders, not just of GTLA, but of our community and state, and I look forward to working with them during their tenure as LEAD Class members and beyond.”

Now beginning its fifth year, the LEAD program is designed to give members the necessary tools to take the next steps in their legal careers, the GTLA said in the news release.

The LEAD lawyers either have less than 10 years of legal practice experience, or are 35 or younger. The program is to feature six sessions beginning Nov. 17-18 in Athens and concluding with graduation at the GTLA Annual Convention & President's Gala in Atlanta on April 26-27, 2018.

The new LEAD lawyers announced are: Alyssa Baskam of Conley Griggs Partin, Dan Beer of Shiver Hamilton, Wick Cauthorn of Morgan & Morgan, Joseph Colwell of Butler Wooten & Peak, Leslie Cushner of Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes, Marsh & Hodgin in Statesboro, Seth Eisenberg of the Eisenberg Firm, Stephen Fowler of the Fowler Firm, Patrick Garrard of Blasingame, Birch, Garrard & Ashley in Athens, Kurt Kastorof of the Summerville Firm, Alicia Mack of the Mack Law Firm, Mak McAllister of Bross, McAllister & Williams, Titus Nichols of Bell & Brigham in Augusta, Shawn Owen of Robert W. Hughes & Associates in Lawrenceville, Kevin Patrick of Kevin Patrick Law, Eric Roden of Roden + Love in Savannah, and Fatima Zeidan of The Eichholz Law Firm in Savannah.

“As graduates of the GTLA LEAD Program, we are thrilled to give back to the program which provided so many professional opportunities to us by helping the next class of LEADers realize the immense benefits provided to them through the program,” LEAD Program Co-Chairs M.J. Blakely and Andy Conn said in the news release. “This year's class is one of the most professionally and geographically diverse in program history, with class members hailing from 9 separate cities from across the state. This diversity serves as a hallmark of the program and speaks to the vitality it will enjoy for years to come.”