Our Lawyers

Smart, hard-working lawyers who won’t quit.

Page Pate

Page Pate is an accomplished trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience in criminal defense and civil litigation. He is one of the most respected trial lawyers in the Southeast. He has won cases in the United States Supreme Court, the Seventh and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the Georgia Court of Appeals. Page has also successfully resolved serious federal criminal cases in all federal districts in Georgia and in many other states, including California, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, and Virginia. He has also helped resolve international criminal disputes in Great Britain, Ireland, The Bahamas, and Spain.

Page was appointed by federal judges to the Board of the Federal Defender Program in Atlanta, and was previously the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. Page was also recently appointed to the Judicial Selection and Tenure Committee of the Atlanta Bar Association, a committee that reviews judicial nominees and makes recommendations on potential judges.

Page has received the highest possible rating from other lawyers and judges (AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell). He has also been named to the list of Georgia Super Lawyers for the past nine consecutive years, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and was recently named as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Page is a founding member of the Georgia Innocence Project, and an active member of the Federal Bar Association, the National Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.

Page is a regular contributor to CNN and serves as one of the network’s Legal Analysts. For many years, Page has also served as the Legal Analyst for WABE FM 90.1, an NPR affiliate. Our firm’s cases have been covered by the New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, and in many other national and local publications.

Page is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia teaching law students litigation and trial strategies. Page graduated with honors from the University of Georgia’s Law School in 1994 and received the American Jurisprudence Award for Advocacy. While in law school, Page was the top advocate in several moot court competitions and was elected into the Order of Barristers. Page received his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University where he graduated with honors and was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa scholarship award for being in the top ten percent of his graduating class.

Page is admitted to practice in all Georgia state and federal courts, and in certain federal district courts in several other states. He is also a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, and the Eleventh, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. He is also authorized to appear as counsel in the United States Tax Court and the Court of International Trade.

Page is active in several non-profit organizations that are dedicated to serving the needs of the wrongfully accused and their families.

Jess Johnson

Jess Johnson is one of the best young lawyers in Georgia. He has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in criminal defense and civil litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine for the past several years. While only 2.5% of lawyers in Georgia under the age of 40 receive such an honor, Jess was first named to this list after only 3 years of practice.

Jess has been instrumental in our firm’s success in both trials and appeals. In his very first trial, Jess was awarded an Acquittal Award from the Federal Defender Program for helping our firm win a “not guilty” verdict in a major federal case. Jess coordinates all our firm’s appeals and recently argued before the Supreme Court of Georgia. Jess’ hard work, creativity and diligence have helped our clients win precedent-setting motions and arguments in courts across Georgia.

Jess is especially talented in negotiating favorable results for our clients in both criminal and civil cases without the need for a trial. He has helped our clients get difficult criminal cases dismissed, and has secured significant financial settlements in complex civil cases.

Jess graduated first in his class from the University of Georgia in 2006 with dual degrees in political science and sociology. He went on to attend the University of Georgia School of Law where he excelled at mock trial and was elected to the Mock Trial Executive Board before graduating with honors in 2009.

Jess is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and authorized to practice in all federal and state courts in that state. He is also a member of The District of Columbia Bar in Washington, DC, and admitted to practice in all its courts. Jess regularly appears in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and is admitted to the Court of International Trade.

Prior to practicing law, Jess worked for a prominent member of Congress in Washington, DC.

Thomas Church

Tom joined Pate & Johnson in 2017 after graduating with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law.

While in law school, Tom honed his trial advocacy skills competing as a member of the moot court and mock trial teams. He also earned awards for achieving the highest marks in his Torts and Constitutional Law classes.

In his last year of school, Tom served as a research assistant to Professors Dan T. Coenen and Michael Wells, where his work focused on constitutional law, the early history of the U.S. Constitution, and civil rights litigation. Tom was also one of a few students selected to participate in a seminar led by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Prior to law school, Tom graduated from Emory University in 2012, where he majored in Sociology and minored in History with a concentration on the history of the American South. After graduating, Tom clerked at a boutique litigation firm in Midtown Atlanta before pursuing his own career in the law.

Tom is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and authorized to practice in all state courts in Georgia. He has been admitted to practice in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia.

Tom is bilingual and maintains strong family ties to Peru. Tom assists our Spanish speaking clients in both criminal and civil matters.