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Christina Champagne, Associate Attorney

Christina Champagne is an Atlanta-raised attorney dedicated to client-centered representation and just results.

She became a Defender while a student at Emory Law School. Under Georgia’s Third-Year Practice Act, she interned at the Fulton and Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Offices. However, after a year working for two women who built a criminal defense firm after careers as public defenders, Christina quickly confirmed that her true passion is to defend the rights of the accused and protecting people from the insurmountable power of the Government.

Christina has represented clients on hundreds felony and misdemeanor cases, including aggravated assault, theft, child molestation, drug charges, minor in possession of alcohol, DUI, and traffic offenses. She has conducted hearings and trials before the State and Superior Courts of Georgia, serving clients spanning from Macon to Columbus, Atlanta, Athens, and north Georgia.

Christina transitioned to STERN Law to expand her practice to the defense of non-U.S. Citizens. She proudly protects people who are not only accused of violating the law, but who could lose their families and livelihoods if convicted (and deported or stripped of legal status). Christina also helps non-U.S. Citizens achieve legal status in the United States to pursue their dreams and stay united with their families. Christina believes that everyone deserves a chance to be a part of this great country, especially when a person works so hard to make it happen.

In her spare time, Christina enjoys yoga; being outdoors; traveling with her fiancé; and Georgia football.

Christina is admitted to the Bar in the State and Superior Courts of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Jessica Stern, Managing Attorney

Jessica Stern is a bright, spirited courtroom lawyer and a champion for justice. Blending years of experience as a public defender and an attorney with a well-respected federal criminal defense firm, Jessica founded STERN Law, LLC in 2013.

Built exclusively to protect non-U.S. citizens, STERN Law is the first 100% CrImmigration law firm in the nation. Jessica and her carefully-selected team focus completely on the defense of non-U.S. citizens throughout an entire criminal case with protection from deportation consequences, fight against deportation in Immigration Court, and diligently pursue lawful status through applications for immigration benefits nationwide.

She ensures quality representation to those in need of a client-centered, compassionate, and no-nonsense legal team. Despite common systematic and societal challenges, Jessica never takes lightly the responsibility to provide each and every person with respect and the best shot at winning. She is not afraid to push the envelope and challenge common practices in order to uphold and protect one’s constitutional rights and the basic principles of fairness. To that end, she is a firm believer that individuals are not defined by the worst thing they (may) have done in life.

Jessica values her courtroom experience, where she has litigated well over a thousand felony cases and complicated deportation trials. She has built skill through careful investigation and methodical research, strategic negotiations with the government, effective client communication, hundreds of motions arguments before various judges, and the willingness to force the government to prove its case at a jury trial. Jessica not only views success in the trials and motions she has won, but also in the dismissals and charge reductions, in arguments that change a judge’s view on a sentencing statute or evidentiary law, and most importantly in the overall satisfaction of the people she has represented.

Jessica is extremely knowledgeable about post-conviction relief options and enjoys counseling criminal defense attorneys through the Padilla Immigration Consequences analysis.

Jessica is admitted to the Bar in the State of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court. Jessica is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Jessica was  appointed in 2014 to the Bar’s Judicial Selection & Tenure Committee and sits on the City of Atlanta Board of Ethics through 2018. She is the former Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section Board (2014-2015) and served on the Board of the Women in the Profession Section from 2012-2014.  She’s an active member of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), serving on the chapter’s ICE liaison committee for the past few years.

Awards & Recognitions

Education

J.D., Northeastern University School of Law
B.A., University of Central Florida, magna cum laude