Meet the DeKalb County Family Law Attorneys at E.N. Banks-Ware Law Firm

The DeKalb County family law attorneys at E.N. Banks-Ware Law Firm have represented families across Stonecrest, Lithonia, Decatur, and metro Atlanta since 1991. Our team handles divorce, child custody, child support, parental rights, spousal support, marital agreements, and post-judgment modifications. Every case is staffed by an attorney who knows how Georgia family courts actually work.

Choosing a lawyer is a practical decision. You want to know who will answer your questions, who will stand up in court, and what experience they bring to a case like yours. The profiles below answer those questions. To speak with a family law attorney in DeKalb County, call (470) 523-3135.

E. Noreen Banks-Ware, Founding Attorney

E. Noreen Banks-Ware founded E.N. Banks-Ware Law Firm in 1991 and serves as its principal. She has been licensed in Georgia since 1989 and has represented thousands of clients through every stage of the family court process. The firm holds the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and its practice covers family law alongside estate and probate matters.

Her background reaches beyond private practice. Georgia appointed her a Special Assistant Administrative Law Judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings from 1997 to 2003. Lamar County appointed her County Attorney from 1998 to 2000, making her the first African American to hold that role in the county’s history. She is admitted before the Supreme Court of Georgia, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She served as President of the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation from 2021 to 2023 and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia. Read Noreen Banks-Ware’s full profile.

Deidré J. Stokes, Senior Associate Attorney

Deidré J. Stokes is a litigation attorney with more than seventeen years of family law trial practice. She is admitted to practice in Georgia and in Washington, D.C. Her career includes a judicial law clerk internship, contract drafting, state representation, and private practice, which gives her a wide view of how a dispute can be resolved or tried.

Her trial work covers the parts of a case that decide outcomes. She drafts pleadings, negotiates settlements and pleas, delivers opening statements and closing arguments, examines witnesses, and presents evidence. A contested custody trial often turns on whether a parent’s evidence was organized and presented clearly, and that is the work Deidré handles for clients. Read Deidré Stokes’s full profile.

Chelsea Francis, Esq., Associate Attorney

Chelsea Francis represents parents, spouses, and families throughout DeKalb County in divorce, child custody, child support, and parental rights matters. She earned her Juris Doctor from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and was sworn into the State Bar of Georgia in October 2025. She is admitted before the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, and the Fulton County Superior Court.

Chelsea came to family law through two very different internships. With the Georgia Public Defenders Council she worked inside the criminal courts, where an attorney learns to prepare quickly and argue in front of a judge with a crowded calendar. At Anderson & Associates she focused on legal writing, research, and negotiation. She applies that drafting precision to parenting plans, settlement agreements, and marital agreements. Read Chelsea Francis’s full profile.

Speak With a DeKalb County Family Law Attorney Today

Family law cases run on deadlines. A response to a divorce petition or custody complaint is due within a set window, and missing it limits what the court will hear from you later. The sooner an attorney reviews your situation, the more options stay open.

E.N. Banks-Ware Law Firm serves families in Stonecrest, Lithonia, Decatur, Dunwoody, and across DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, Cobb, Rockdale, and Henry counties. Our office sits at 3636 Panola Rd A, Stonecrest, GA 30038, and we answer calls 24 hours a day.

Call (470) 523-3135 to schedule a consultation with a DeKalb County family law attorney, or reach us through our contact page.