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Wingo F. Smith is a senior attorney at Atlanta Legal Aid where he focuses on using affirmative litigation to solve problems faced by clients and his community.
A native of Southern Illinois, Wingo attended Knox College and the University of Illinois College Of Law. He moved south in 2008 to begin his legal career at Georgia Legal Services Program representing clients in Georgia’s rural communities in and around Albany, Georgia.
As a generalist, Wingo represents clients in consumer, housing, and public benefit cases. In 2015-16, he assisted with the legislative effort to rewrite Georgia’s garnishment laws after they were found unconstitutional. In May, as lead counsel in a multi-plaintiff case against public welfare agencies in Georgia, he negotiated a state-wide consent order to establish procedures for accommodating persons with disabilities within the SNAP and Medicaid programs. He is currently involved in several lawsuits disability and access in subsidized housing in Atlanta.
Outside of work, Wingo has served as the chair of the Georgia Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the Atlanta Bar Association’s Public Interest Law Section. He currently volunteers with a tenant organizing group called Housing Justice League.