Rosalind Rubens Newell (College, 1981; Law, 1986) is very comfortable with change. In fact, she is the chief legal counsel of Invest Atlanta, more formally known as the "Atlanta Development Authority," that attracts and supports economic development in a city in which population has increased by more than 3.5 million individuals since her professional debut in 1986.
In the more than 28 years she's been engaged in legal issues arising from land use and economic development and, by extension, governmental affairs, Newell has participated in shaping incredible growth in the city she calls home. As a third year Emory Law student, Newell interned with the City of Atlanta. "I was fascinated by how interesting and diverse the legal issues and cases were," she recalls.
After clerking in the Superior Court of Fulton County, in 1987 she went to work for the City of Atlanta Law Department, handling litigation and commercial transactions. "We managed real estate acquisitions and sales, civil rights litigation, sexual harassment cases involving city workers, injury lawsuits against the city, street construction, sewer remediation, financing deals for airport expansion, and the purchase of goods and services."