Patrick Leh Meriwether | Canton Family Law Lawyer | Georgia

Patrick “Leh” Meriwether has gained significant experience as an attorney since passing both the Georgia and Florida bar exams in 1996. Although he is admitted to practice in both Georgia and Florida he focuses his practice on Georgia cases. In addition to his license to practice law, he is also a certified arbitrator and mediator. Mr. Meriwether has handled thousands of family cases and is an invaluable resource when it comes to determining a spouse’s ownership rights, equitable division of a marital business and finding creative solutions on how to best address problems in a case.

Since working as an associate at Arthur Anderson in 1998, Mr. Meriwether has been a partner at Meriwether and Tharp, LLC. Having focused primarily on business cases early in his career, working with both small and large businesses alike, Mr. Meriwether brings this wealth of knowledge and experience to his family law practice. His ability to quickly process financial statements, high attention to detail, familiarity with various methods of analyzing numbers and calculations, and keen understanding of business structures and models benefit his clients, in particular, business owners, professionals and other high asset individuals.

In addition to his proficiency with financial aspects of a divorce, he continues to educate himself in the psychological issues that customarily arise in contested custody disputes. He recently attended a Best Practices Conference titled, “Understanding Child Relocation, Domestic Violence and High Conflict Parenting, and Parental Alienation.” This conference was attended by not just lawyers, but also Judges, Psychologists, Custody Evaluators, and mediators.

Divorce is considered a domestic crisis and Mr. Meriwether understands the unique difficulties of going through a divorce, including not just the legal, but also the financial and emotional. He understands that a divorce can be one of the most life altering and stressful events someone can experience. Mr. Meriwether always offers his clients a cost-benefit analysis, assessing the legal strengths and weaknesses of a client’s case versus the financial repercussions involved of pursuing a specific matter. This evaluation includes a discussion of the financial cost of continuing litigation to achieve the desired result, and the emotional toll not only on the client but on the family as a whole. While Mr. Meriwether will fiercely litigate a case, he understands that some cases are better off being settled. As a trained mediator and arbitrator, Mr. Meriwether is not only very familiar with the alternative dispute resolution process but is able to offer sound insight into different strategies to help his clients receive the best settlement possible.

On a personal level, Mr. Meriwether holds a Black Belt in Judo and was the State Champion in his division while in law school. When he is not practicing law, Mr. Meriwether is very active in his sons’ Cub Scouts activities; is a den leader for both his sons; and regularly plans and coordinates Cub Scout activities in his Pack. Mr. Meriwether is also an aspiring artisan in woodworking. He has built his children’s bedroom furniture, his kitchen table, and is currently working on finishing his new office desk out of Ambrosia Maple and a dining room table out of slabs of solid walnut. In his spare time, Mr. Meriwether also uses his woodworking skills to craft individualized and unique pens.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
University of Florida Levin College of Law	J.D.	Law School	1995
University of Miami	B.A.	N/A	1992

State / Court	Date
FL	1996
GA	1996

• American Bar Association
  Family Law Section (2004 through present)
  
  Forsyth County Bar Association
  Member of Legislative Committee (2009 through present)
  
  Blue Ridge Bar Association
  Member (2009 through present)
  

• Neutral Civil Mediator, Registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution (2010 through present)
  
  Arbitrator, Registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution (2007 through present)

• “Effect of Supersedeas in a Hotly Contested Divorce Case ,” Family Law Review, State Bar of Georgia (2012)
  
  “Holiday Stress and the Courts,” Cherokee Tribune (2011)
  
  “Reducing the Conflict in Divorce Cases,” Cherokee Tribune (2011)
  
  “Avoiding the Conflict of a Divorce,” Cherokee Tribune (2011)
  
  “Top 10 iPhone/iPad Apps for a Family Law Attorney,” Atlanta Bar Association Family Law Section (2011)
  
  “Ask the Expert : Divorce and COBRA,” The Peaceful Co-Parent (2010)
  
  Regular Contributor to the Divorce Blog, atlantadivorceattorneyblog.com

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