Jonathan R Levine has emerged in recent years as one of the most accomplished young matrimonial attorneys in Greater Atlanta. Just entering his professional prime, he is poised to lead the field for years to come. Precise and focused, hard-working and well liked by peers, Levine is in many respects the best example of divorce law's next generation - technology-savvy, excellent business instincts and well versed in the onslaught of social changes he and his peers now see every day. "I always knew I'd become a lawyer," says the born-and-bred Atlantan (Pace Academy '77; his children attend today). That Levine and his two younger brothers all became attorneys is remarkable; their father, renowned bankruptcy lawyer Morton P. Levine, is still well known and widely respected in the legal community.

Jonathan R. Levine was lured by the courtroom early on. His clerkships after law school (uniquely, he received a separate Masters degree in litigation from Emory) gave him early litigation experience, the foundation of his practice today. Shortly thereafter he served as an assistant district attorney, gaining additional valuable trial experience. For four years he worked with his father, where the first divorce cases came to him - "I'm a people person, and in divorce cases I was really helping people, which I enjoyed." He joined a boutique matrimonial practice in 1991, further focusing himself. Two years later he launched his own practice. ("I had no clients - my practice was founded on confidence and hustle.") In short order, Atlanta's elite - some of whom have known Levine since childhood - sought him out.

In 2001 Levine joined forces with Alvah O. Smith, a successful divorce attorney and also a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Levine & Smith, based in plush offices at One Securities Centre in Buckhead, now has eight attorneys, all handling family law matters with increasingly high stakes and high assets. Peers respect Levine's serious but never false demeanor, and his energy. "I think the secret to our success is that we're very proactive, rather than reactive. That approach leads to better results. Clients remember that."

Away from the office, Levine enjoys traveling with family, and attending sporting events, professional and college alike. "It's a good way to unwind - because Family Law is one of the most stress-producing jobs there is." He lives in Sandy Springs with his wife and three daughters.