Photo Of Michael Eric Manely

All Family Law,
All Around the World SM

“Go ahead. Dream. Plan. I focus on the family law so you can focus on the family.”

Michael Manely, International High Asset Divorce and Family Law Attorney

Michael Eric Manely

  • Founding Attorney

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Michael has practiced divorce and family law for more than 30 years and has prevailed in thousands of family law cases. He is admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of The United States of America, the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, the United States District Court District of South Carolina, the United States District Court Eastern District of Tennessee, the United States District Court Northern District of Alabama, the United States District Court Northern District of Iowa, the United States District Court Northern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the District of Montana, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

 On December 5, 2012 he delivered oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States in Chafin v. Chafin, 133 S. Ct. 1017, 568 US 165, 185 L. Ed. 2d 1 - Supreme Court, 2013, securing a unanimous victory and establishing that parents who have a child removed from the United States have standing regarding their custodial interests. The decision has been cited over 950 times.  Michael is the only all family law attorney to win unanimous decisions from both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia! Michael has built a reputation for winning difficult, controversial and high-profile cases. He has successfully represented thousands of mothers and fathers in state, federal and international divorce, custody and child support cases.

 To date, Michael has added David Purvis as Partner, Dina Khismatulina as Partner Managing Attorney, Atlanta and Lawrenceville, William King as Partner Managing Attorney, Marietta and Columbus, Jess Lill as Managing Attorney, Savannah and Kourtney Bernard-Rance as Managing Attorney, Cumming, in addition to many family law associates and paralegals to his practice across six office locations throughout Georgia. He has expanded his personal caseload to handle predominantly international family law, particularly Hague Child Abduction and Retention cases, high asset divorce, complex custodial disputes and family law appeals. He serves as lead counsel on complex cases or at his clients' request, while lending his strategic guidance and legal insight to the casework of his team.

Michael has become one of the most sought-after international family law attorneys in Georgia, representing clients in federal court throughout the United States and in select foreign jurisdictions. Michael has successfully resolved cases from every continent in the world, except Antarctica and served as an expert witness on international child abduction in court proceedings in the United States and Scotland. Michael coordinates with the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Consuls General, foreign counsel and court systems in jurisdictions throughout the world in the resolution of his client’s cases. A list of published and notable cases are referenced herein. 

Michael is also sought after to present on family law, international family law and family law appeals having delivered remarks to The State Bar of Georgia, The State Bar of Georgia’s Family Law Section, The State Bar of Georgia’s Access to Justice Committee, The State Bar of Georgia’s Appellate Section, The Cobb Bar’s Young Professionals Section, The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and Global Atlanta’s Consular Conversations. He was recognized by American University with the Mary Beth Tinker Award in 2005 and the University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System as a thought leader in the delivery of family law services in 2016, participating in the publication of The Family Law Bar Stewards of the System, Leaders of Change.

Michael's professional affiliations include the International Society of Family Law, the American Bar Association Family Law Section and International Section, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the State of Georgia Bar Association Family Law Section and the Cobb County Bar Association. He is an active member of Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Cobb Select’s International Business Council, sponsoring the Council’s 2021-24 events and activities. He is an active partner with Global Atlanta in service and support of Georgia’s consulate community. Michael has been selected as a 2022-2024 Super Lawyer and was recognized as National Academy of Family Law Attorney’s 2022 Nationally Ranked Top 10 Attorney Award for excellence in the field of Family Law. Michael also often speaks to various legal communities on topics of interest, recently serving as a featured speaker in Family Law to the Latinx and Caribbean Law Student Association. He has also had the pleasure of being a guest on Forsyth County RadioX podcast and a featured Keynote speaker for the AIB Network original series individually titled Soulful Divorce.

Michael was recognized by Cobb Life Magazine as one of 2021-23’s Best of Cobb’s “Best Family Law Divorce Attorney” and “Best Overall Attorney.”

Michael is an active Alumni of Georgia State university. He is a past president of the GSU College of Law Alumni Association, a past president of the GSU College of Law Student Bar Association and sitting member of the Alumni Counsel. 

Areas Of Practice

  • International Family Law
  • Child Support
  • Custody & Visitation
  • Divorce
  • Family Law

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia, 1989
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1989
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia
  • Georgia Court of Appeals, 1989
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
  • Supreme Court of Georgia, 1989
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 2013
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia, 2021

Education

  • Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia
    • J.D.
  • Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
    • B.A.
    • Major: Philosophy

Published Works

  • "The Supreme Court - Four Years Later", The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2016
  • "International Family Law: Dad who went the extra thousand miles" , The Manely Firm, PC Blog, 2015
  • "Trial Practice: Pre-trial Orders are beautiful things", The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2015
  • Custody: Heartbreak Hotel, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2014
  • Diabolical Dabbling, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog
  • "I need help!", The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • "They took my baby!", The Manely Firm, P.C. , 2018
  • Helping the Other Side Win, The Manely Firm, P.C. , 2018
  • Who Are You?, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • What Are You? , The Manely Firm, P.C., 2018
  • Evil People, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • Coming Home, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • Emotional Intelligence, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • So Tell Me What You Want (WHat you Really, Really Want). , The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • Wind Chimes, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • The Superlative Mr. Purivs, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • From the Very First Minute, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2018
  • Turbo Charging Your Divorce Plans, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2018
  • Power Rules the World (and Rules the Home), The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • Dogs and Cats, the End Game, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2018
  • An Atlanta Divorce, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • A New Year; A New You?, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2018
  • Divorce, A More Perfect Dis-Union, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Good Will Toward Men, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Family Law and the Hollywood Drama , The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Judge David Purvis!, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2017
  • We Fight!, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • But, He's Gay!, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2017
  • Terrorism and Domestic Violence , The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog , 2017
  • International Family Law: Saving Lives and Making Law, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Family Law: How's That Working For You?, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Family Law: Everyone Snaps, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Divorce: You Are Forgiven, The Manely Firm, P.C. Blog, 2017
  • Family Law: All In Good Time, The Manely Firm, P.C., 2017
  • Oh Houston., The Manely Firm, P.C. , 2017

Representative Cases

  • RISHMAWY v. Vergara
    Dist. Court, SD Georgia, 2021
    Civil Action No. 4:21-cv-35. United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Savannah Division. February 17, 2021
  • Vanterpool v. Patton
    835 SE 2d 407, 352 Ga. App. 584 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 2019
  • Payne v. Myatt
    832 SE 2d 663, 351 Ga. App. 678 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 2019
  • Leonard v. Lentz
    Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, 2019
    No. 18-1341. United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. Submitted: January 4, 2019. Filed: January 14, 2019
  • Vanterpool v. Patton
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2018
    JOYCELYN VANTERPOOL v. DAVID PATTON. A19D0013. Court of Appeals of Georgia. August 15, 2018
  • MOONGA v. MOONGA
    Dist. Court, ND Georgia, 2018
    Civil Action No. 1:17-CV-2136-TWT. United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division. August 23, 2018
  • IN RE THE APPLICATION OF DONE v. Pichardo
    Dist. Court, ND Georgia, 2018
    Civil Action No. 1:18-CV-795-RWS. United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division. April 24, 2018
  • Leonard v. Lentz
    288 F. Supp. 3d 945 – Dist. Court, ND Iowa, 2018
  • Eubanks v. Eubanks
    Dist. Court, ED Louisiana, 2017
    Civil Action No. 17-1217. United States District Court, ED Louisiana. July 31, 2017
  • Eubanks v. Eubanks
    Dist. Court, ED Louisiana, 2017
    Civil Action No. 17-1217. United States District Court, ED Louisiana. August 4, 2017
  • Eubanks v. Eubanks
    Dist. Court, ED Louisiana, 2017
    Civil Action No. 17-1217. United States District Court, ED Louisiana. October 17, 2017
  • Eubanks v. Eubanks
    Dist. Court, ED Louisiana, 2017
    Civil Action No. 17-1217. United States District Court, ED Louisiana. November 7, 2017
  • Leonard v. Lentz
    Dist. Court, ND Iowa, 2017
    No. 17-CV-3037-LRR. United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Central Division. October 12, 2017
  • Patton v. Vanterpool
    806 SE 2d 493, 302 Ga. 253 – Ga: Supreme Court, 2017
  • Leonard v. Lentz
    297 F. Supp. 3d 874 – Dist. Court, ND Iowa, 2017
  • VESELICA v. VESELICA
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2017
    A17A1295. Court of Appeals of Georgia. March 30, 2017
  • Doud v. Doud
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2017
    JENNIFER DOUD, v. CHAD DOUD. A17D0464. Court of Appeals of Georgia. June 13, 2017
  • IN RE INTEREST OF DH
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2016
    IN THE INTEREST OF: DH, ET AL., CHILDREN. A17A0700. Court of Appeals of Georgia. December 14, 2016
  • Patton v. Vanterpool
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2016
    A17I0005. Court of Appeals of Georgia. August 24, 2016
  • Ballweg v. GEORGIA DEPT. OF HUMAN SERVICES
    785 SE 2d 47, 336 Ga. App. 372 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 2016
  • Coursey v. Coursey
    787 SE 2d 199, 299 Ga. 203 – Ga: Supreme Court, 2016
  • Ivers v. Ivers
    Ga: Court of Appeals, 2016
    NICOLE LYNETTE-ZERBEL IVERS, v. JOHN THOMAS IVERS. No. A17I0022. Court of Appeals of Georgia. September 22, 2016
  • Burnett v. Burnett
    Dist. Court, ED Tennessee, 2014
    No. 3:13-CV-492-HSM-HBG. United States District Court, E.D. Tennessee, Knoxville. March 6, 2014
  • Chafin v. Chafin
    133 S. Ct. 1017, 568 US 165, 185 L. Ed. 2d 1 – Supreme Court, 2013
  • Chafin v. Chafin
    742 F. 3d 934 – Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 2013
  • Hirst v. Tiberghien
    947 F. Supp. 2d 578 – Dist. Court, D. South Carolina, 2013
  • LaFont v. Rouviere
    656 SE 2d 522, 283 Ga. 60 – Ga: Supreme Court, 2008
  • Taylor v. Taylor
    646 SE 2d 238, 282 Ga. 113 – Ga: Supreme Court, 2007
  • Selman v. Cobb County School Dist.
    390 F. Supp. 2d 1286 – Dist. Court, ND Georgia, 2005
  • Furnes v. Reeves
    362 F. 3d 702 – Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 2004
  • In re Extradition of Bowey
    147 F. Supp. 2d 1365 – Dist. Court, ND Georgia, 2001
  • Bunn-Penn v. Southern Regional Medical Corp.
    488 SE 2d 747, 227 Ga. App. 291 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 1997
  • Fowler v. PRUDENTIAL PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
    214 Ga. App. 766, 449 SE 2d 157 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 1994
  • Credle v. East Bay Holding Co.
    440 SE 2d 20, 263 Ga. 907 – Ga: Supreme Court, 1994
  • Fly v. Kroger Co.
    432 SE 2d 664, 209 Ga. App. 75 – Ga: Court of Appeals, 1993

Classes/Seminars

  • Managing the Expat Experience, Global Atlanta

Honors and Awards

  • Gracepointe Certificate of Appreciation for Community Service (December 2016)
  • GSU College of Law Named Classroom, Michael and Shelia Manely Classroom (June 2015)
  • GSU College of Law Student Public Interest Law Association Serving Others and Achieving Results (SOAR) Award (April 2014)
  • Cobb Legal Aid Pro Bono Award (2009)
  • Mary Beth Tinker Award, Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, American University Washington College of Law (May 2005)
  • Georgia Mock Trial Champion
  • Georgia Mock Trial Champion

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • State of Georgia Bar Association, Family Law Section and Environmental Law Section, Member
  • Cobb County Bar Association, Member
  • Marietta Business Association, Member
  • Georgia State University College of Law Alumni Association, Organizer, Cobb County branch
  • Georgia State University College of Law Alumni Society, Past President
  • International Society of Family Law
  • The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
  • The American Bar Association, Family Law Section
  • American Bar Association , Present
  • American Bar Association, Internation Law Section
  • American Bar Association, Litigation Section

Pro Bono Activities

  • Cobb Legal Aid Pro Bono Award , 2009
  • State Bar of Georgia Pro-Bono Project, Recognition for Outstanding Public Service , 2007

Languages

  • English
  • German

Fraternities/Sororities

  • Delta Theta Phi