Political Law & Litigation

Michael Jablonski represents select clients in matters related to politics: campaigns with contract problems; candidates facing ethics charges; political consultants charged with trademark and copyright violations; media buyers and candidates confused by the FCC's lowest unit charge rules; businesses with campaign contribution problems; citizens using the Georgia Open Records Act or the Federal Freedom of Information Act; and others that have been caught in the mire of campaign finance and ethics law.

Jablonski brings over 30 years experience in both litigation and political campaigns to the practice. AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, he has appeared before the Supreme Court of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, and Georgia Superior and State Courts; the State Ethics Commission and the State Elections Board; all divisions of the United States District Court in Georgia and the United States District Court in California; the District of Columbia, 9th and 11th Federal Courts of Appeal; the Federal Communications Commission; and the Federal Elections Commission.

A frequent seminar presenter on election law, he has commented on legal aspects of politics for radio, television, print, and web-based publications.

Political Communication and Debate

Political communication embraces a range of topics regarding public discourse on political issues. Michael Jablonski actively works with political clients on communication issues. Since 1968 he has produced a variety of communication materials - including television, radio, and print advertising; speeches, policy papers, press releases; and web-based materials - for a variety of public and private clients. He has ghost written materials for several clients.

Jablonski's principal expertise is in the area of debate, where he has worked with Roy Barnes, Jimmy Carter, Andrew Young and others. He undertakes responsibility for every aspect of debates - from negotiating debate formats, writing briefing books, developing strategy and analyzing rhetoric to organizing practices and critiquing candidate performance. A college debater at Emory University, Jablonski has coached academc debate in college, high school, middle school and - just once! - in elementary school. The Barkley Forum for High Schools awarded him gold key coach status. He has been the president of the Barkley Forum Foundation at Emory University for almost twenty years. He is one of the founders of the Urban Debate League.

Since 2003 he has been teaching journalism, speech, and communication at Georgia State University, including courses on Political Communication, Political Speechwriting, Legal Journalism, Rhetoric of Terrorism, and Mediation and Conflict Resolution. He has spoken about political communication for a variety of organizations including the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Atlanta Ad Club.

Conflict Resolution

Michael Jablonski brings a unique set of talents to the study of conflict resolution. In addition to a lengthy career as a trial lawyer, he ran a company writing political strategy for businesses working with government and has served both as a court-appointed mediator and as a fee arbitrator for the State Bar of Georgia. Jablonski brings together strategy, debate concepts, rhetoric, linguistics, and communication theory to the study of conflict resolution. His Mediation and Conflict Resolution class at Georgia State University explores various strategies for resolving conflict, analyzes conflict styles, and teaches techniques for implementing needs-based negotiation.