Atlanta lawyer takes legal help to the Beltline
An Atlanta attorney is taking his legal knowledge out of the office and onto the Beltline with a simple sign: "Ask a Lawyer."
It's a grassroots approach to helping people — and it's drawing attention both in person and online.
Cody Randall has built a sizable following on social media, but his Beltline setup is intentionally low-key. Accompanied by his dog, Ruby, Randall puts out a folding chair, posts his sign and waits for people to approach with questions.
"I'm not soliciting. I'm not barking. I'm not hawking," Randall said. "I literally am just a guy with a sign and a dog."
Randall is a licensed, tenured attorney who also works in private practice. He said he never discusses his day job while on the Beltline and is not there to sell legal services.
"I think the definition of a hobby is labor you would do without compensation," Randall said. "I like helping people. I became an attorney to help people. I've been fortunate enough in my career to have success, so I have the free time and ability to do things like this."
Randall began the Beltline meetups after the pandemic, recording many of the interactions and posting them online under the handle @atlcody.
He said the conversations benefit not only the people who stop to talk, but also the thousands who watch online.
"It's not about legal services. It's not about legal advice," Randall said. "This is legal education — helping people help themselves and empowering them to feel confident in their abilities or know how to find resources."
One of Randall's favorite success stories involved a young man dealing with a dispute over a car purchase.
"He came back and said, 'You were totally right,'" Randall recalled. "His parents took the car to a shop, got it inspected, and we worked out an agreement. He told me, 'You treated me like an adult and a person. You answered my questions and made me feel a lot better.'"
Randall sets up at various points along the Atlanta Beltline, but he is most often found in the Inman Park area.
