Lisa Lott was born in Columbus, Ohio, and spent her childhood on both East and West coasts.  Lott received a bachelor degree from the University of California at Berkeley and received a juris doctorate from Emory Law School in 1994.  Lott began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Council of Juvenile Court Judges, an organization of dedicated public servants that helped guide her future legal choices.  After the Council, she became a prosecutor at the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.  She then joined the Georgia Indigent Defense Council as their staff attorney and lobbyist.  She subsequently entered private practice in Atlanta, practicing family law.

Lisa Lott moved to Athens in 2000 when she was hired to be the Senior Public Defender for Juvenile Court at the former University of Georgia Legal Aid and Defender Clinic, an organization which is now referred to as the Western Judicial Circuit Public Defender Office.  Lott eventually became the Chief Assistant for the Public Defender Office, and has been working at this office for the past 18 years.  

Judge Lott lives in Athens with her husband Doug Haines, a lawyer who has also dedicated his career to public service, having been a public interest lawyer for 25 years and also a local state senator.  They have two teenage children who attend public school in Clarke County.  

When not in the courthouse, Judge Lott is involved in the PTA organizations for both her children’s schools, she is the manager of her children’s soccer team, and has been involved or on the board of several organizations in this community.  She is an avid swimmer and bike rider, loves to be outdoors, and also loves to travel.  She is honored to begin a new chapter in her life, serving Clarke and Oconee Counties as a superior court judge for the Western Judicial Circuit.