On a sunny April Tuesday, in a procession of unnecessary black umbrellas and hidden faces, 35 former Atlanta Public Schools employees filed into the Fulton County Courthouse. This parade consisted of teachers, administrators and other officials indicted in the largest standardized-test cheating scandal in U.S. history. The story has made national headlines for years, bringing embarrassment to a school district once renowned for its dramatic improvement in test scores. After a slight lull in media coverage, the march of indicted educators brought the story back to life.

Around 7 p.m., the media stationed outside the jail finally caught a glimpse of the parade’s grand marshall. As former APS superintendent Beverly Hall exited her car, she was promptly swarmed by journalists and cameramen. The 66-year-old, accused of charges ranging from racketeering to theft, refused to answer any questions. A lawyer, very familiar to Grady students, spoke on her behalf.

J Tom Morgan, sporting his signature bow tie, calmly answered questions before members of the press. Several hours previously, the attorney announced that he would be representing Hall, the now disgraced former National Superintendent of the Year.

I met Morgan in his Decatur office, several weeks after the big announcement. His fourth floor office space has a gleaming, clean quality to it and boasts a great view of downtown Decatur. After shaking his hand and promptly being asked to “just call me J Tom,” the attorney lead me down a hallway to his office.

“The conference room is being used right now, so we’ll use my office, I apologize for the mess,” he said, apologizing in his amicable, pleasantly Southern voice. We entered his office, and I was surprised to find two things: No. 1 it was far from “a mess.” A few papers on his desk were haphazardly stacked but other than that it was immaculate. And No. 2, the room was void of decoration (excluding his diplomas from the University of Georgia law school.) The near-bare walls would lead one to think that they were dealing with some ordinary lawyer.

As a litigator, Morgan is highly renowned throughout Georgia for his legal savvy and impressive prosecution record. He worked in the Dekalb County district attorney’s office for 21 years and served as the district attorney for 12 of them. As DA, he achieved fame as the lead prosecutor in the case against former DeKalb County sheriff Sidney Dorsey, who was convicted of corruption and murdering his opponent, sheriff-elect Derwin Brown. Morgan became the first American prosecutor to be awarded the Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors.

Currently, he describes himself as “a private lawyer located in Decatur, specializing in criminal defense,” but most Grady students know Morgan from his popular speeches concerning youth rights and the laws by which young people live.

Only six days prior to announcing his defense of Hall, Morgan gave one of these speeches to juniors and seniors in the Grady gymnasium. This speech was one of 200 that Morgan has given throughout Georgia and North Carolina to tens of thousands of teens and adults. These speeches inform young people of their rights, specifically concerning alcohol, drugs and sex.

“As DA, I was frequently asked to come speak to kids,” Morgan said during our interview. “I had prosecuted young people before, but I had never worked with them until the book came out.”

The book to which J Tom referred is Ignorance is No Defense: A Teenager’s Guide to Georgia Law, which I leafed through while sitting in his reception area. The 200 page volume outlines a Georgia youth’s rights (and where they lack them) by discussing real cases he has dealt with in his time as a defense attorney. Though my mother purchased me the book a few years ago, I had never actually read it until then. The book is written like his speeches: simple, conversational language that simultaneously comforts and proffers a sense that this book wasn’t written by a lawyer, but by a father passing down practical advice.

“I do it to raise awareness on legal issues,” Morgan said. “Most people, if they think about it, will make the right decision. Teens need to have an open conversation to know what kind of trouble they can get in by having sex with a 15-year-old or an open container violation.”

Nationally recognized as an expert on the prosecution of crimes against children, he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show and CNN. It was not acclaim, however, but criticism that J Tom received when appearing on 11 Alive, CBS 49 and other local Atlanta stations on that April Thursday.

“We are very confident that there is nothing linking Dr. Hall to any of the crimes to this indictment,” J Tom said as he stood by Hall’s side.

“Watching the news last night, my jaw literally dropped when the anchor announced that Beverly Hall is being represented by J. Tom Morgan,” said Tamara Lopata, a Grady parent. “I was shocked that someone who is a passionate child-advocate could represent someone who was involved in damaging the futures of hundreds of APS students.”

Such sentiment for Hall exists throughout the city as is evident by her being voted the 2011 No. 1 “Person You Love to Hate” by Creative Loafing in 2011.

As I nervously attempt to broach the case that has created so much controversy in my interview with J Tom, the lawyer finished my stuttering sentence. “Beverly Hall,” he said flatly, obviously aware of my intentions.

“I’m a private lawyer, and I represent clients charged with crimes; it’s how I make a living. Some attorney somewhere will have to represent the Boston Bomber,” he added. “And our code of ethics requires the best legal representation for any client.”

Morgan’s “code of ethics” seems to extend beyond the courtroom. As a child growing up during the Civil Rights Movement in rural Albany, Ga., Morgan observed oppressed African-Americans wanting “a place at the table.” He saw injustice in the law then, and he still observes it today.

“Laws have been passed by my generation that have serious, but hopefully not intentional, effects on young people,” Morgan said.

“I’ve always had the tendency to fight for the underdog,” he said; a tendency that has become increasingly apparent with his persistent claims of Hall’s innocence.