Carlos Javier Rodriguez | Cobb Circuit, Post 2

Candidate Statement

If you would entrust me with your vote for the State Bar Board of Governors, I would be honored with the responsibility to represent the lawyers and judges in the Cobb Judicial Circuit.

To my friends and members of the Cobb County Bar Association: it was an honor and privilege to serve as president for our 1,000+ members in 2023-24. But I hope that you weren’t expecting me to disappear after my term was over. There’s always more work to be done, and I hope that you will expand your trust in me to work for you as a member of the State Bar Board of Governors.

To those lawyers who I don’t know and may not be members of the Cobb Bar, I’m your guy (and please also join the Cobb Bar).

As you can see from my biography, I am passionately committed to public schools, my Cobb County community, the areas of criminal law and indigent defense. But I also have valuable leadership experience with issues impacting the legal profession as a whole and lawyers of all other practice areas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I served on the Local Committee to Resume Jury Trials in the Cobb Judicial Circuit. Those were challenging times, but I was committed to working with various stakeholders toward solutions that ensured health, safety, meaningful access to the courts and zealous advocacy. And in 2021, I served on the CLE Committee for the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Competency Task Force which worked to study and recommend ways of improving Georgia’s CLE system.

So whether you’re near the Marietta Square or at the Galleria ... from Acworth to Austell ... from Powder Springs to Powers Ferry ... to every lawyer in every zip code of Cobb County, I’d be honored to have your vote.

Education

• University of Georgia—May 12, 2007
• University of Georgia—May 15, 2010

Personal/Family

• Resides in Marietta, Georgia; married with three daughters. Bilingual in Spanish. Son of a retired airline pilot and retired public school educator.
• Personal interests include coaching youth softball; watching his daughters play sports; traveling with family; live music; golf; Georgia football; Atlanta Braves.

Professional Background, Bar Activities, Civic Activities

• Co-Founder of the criminal defense firm Kilgore & Rodriguez, LLC, in Marietta, Georgia—Partner, 2012–present
• Active member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia since 2010; practicing criminal defense
• State Bar of Georgia’s Indigent Defense Committee—member
• State Bar of Georgia’s Criminal Law Section—member
• Cobb County Bar Association—past president
• Criminal Defense Section of the Cobb County Bar Association—member and past president
• Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL)—secretary
• Georgia Public Defender Council—member
• Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Georgia—Board of Directors
• Cobb County Board of Ethics—chairman
• Marietta Schools Foundation—Board of Directors and past president
• Cobb Community Foundation—Board of Directors
• Bill Daniel Trial Advocacy Program (GACDL)—faculty member
• Recipient of the Ross Adams Younger Lawyer Award (2018) and Champion of Justice Award (2024) from Cobb County Bar Association; President’s Award from Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2023 and 2025)

Main Issues Facing the State Bar/Position

• Lawyer Competency: Analyze the impact of the recent State Bar rules changes related to continuing legal education and implement data-driven initiatives aimed at addressing the most common causes of client/public complaints and attorney-discipline.
• Mandatory State Bar Association: Protect our legal profession’s ability to self-regulate by defending against any challenges to the State Bar of Georgia’s mandatory membership for practicing lawyers throughout the state.
• Centralized Case Management System: Ensuring that the State Bar of Georgia hold a meaningful and influential role in developing a centralized case management system for courts statewide.