You may know Lori Duff 94L as the managing partner at Jones & Duff, LLC, or the presiding judge in the city of Loganville. But in addition to her legal success, Duff is also an accomplished writer. Her latest book, Devil’s Hand, hits shelves and e-readers on October 7, 2025. Prior to her book launch, Judge Duff chatted with us about her “Fischer at Law” series and how her Emory Law experience strengthens her writing.

What inspired you to create Jessica Fischer and the Fischer at Law series?

The series actually started with the character Coach Wishingham. I had the idea for him before I had the idea for Jessica. Many years ago, I was watching the confirmation hearings of a politician who shall not be named. He was just so aggravating, and I was thinking, “I’m so tired of these entitled men, and I know for a fact that his handlers had prepped him.” He was not doing what they wanted him to do, and he was not saying what they wanted him to say. It got me thinking how 90% of the life of a lawyer is talking to your clients and trying to get them to behave in a certain way, and then they don’t listen to your advice. Nobody talks about that in the TV shows, movies, or books about the law. That’s just not how it is in real life. I wanted to explore that moral quandary. So, I started with the football coach, and then I needed a foil—someone to represent him that would be completely unlike him. That’s where Jessica came from.

Have you written any of yourself into the character of Jessica Fischer?

I don’t think I’m capable of writing a lawyer character that is completely unlike me. But there are things she does and says that are different than me. In the first draft [of book one], she’s more like me; however, she started becoming her own person as the book went on. She definitely makes decisions that I wouldn’t make—especially in her personal life. She’s a lot more impulsive and sure of where she stands than I was at the age of 28.

You live in Loganville, Georgia. Did any elements of your hometown make their way to the fictional town of Ashton?

In my head, the geography is the same. I have to have a map in my head of where everything is, so the geography is sort of a mish-mash between Loganville and Monroe, which is the county seat of Walton County. I start out with a place, use that as a structural framework, and then it takes on its own life. I start with what I know and jump from there.

What can readers expect with Devil’s Hand? Any plot points you can share?

In Devil’s Hand, Jessica represents the wife of a county commissioner who is the victim of domestic violence—which, of course, puts Jessica in a weird spot, because she has to be against the county commissioner and accuse him of violence. It affects her politically and her ambitions. Bobby makes a comeback. Coach has a bit part in the book just because he was so much fun to write, even though he’s such a jerk. A major subplot is Jessica’s father. They have a strained relationship, and he comes for a visit, trying to make everything right again. The book does end with a cliffhanger, but I won’t say what the cliffhanger is.

I’ve read that you like to leave Easter eggs for your loyal, longtime readers. Could you share one of those Easter eggs?

It’s not so much for the readers as the people in my life. A lot of the names come from somewhere in my life. My real assistant is Diane—in the office, we call her “the real Diane”—and I stole almost all the names from her family. Diane’s sister in real life and the book is Denise. Book Diane and Real Diane’s ex-husband is named Lee. People who know me or live in the area will recognize the names of streets, restaurants, and the places where things happen in the book.

What does Real Diane think about her namesake in the book?

She thinks it’s hilarious because they’re not at all alike. Book Diane is very boy crazy, is always going out with someone new, and kind of runs through men pretty quickly. The real Diane has a rich, full life with her grandkids and doesn’t want to be bothered with that kind of nonsense.

What about your fellow judges or legal professionals? Do they discuss your books with you?

Yes, they do! They all want to know if they’re in it. Which I always respond with, “You’ll have to read it and find out.” It’s interesting to see whether people recognize themselves, because almost everybody in the book starts with a kernel of someone I know in real life, and then the characters take on a life of their own.

Being a busy judge, lawyer, mediator, wife, mom, educator, speaker, and author, how do you make time for your writing? How do you structure your schedule?

To begin, it helps that I’m self-employed, so my time is my own. I’m not obligated to anyone but me for what I do during my day. As a lawyer, I consider myself semi-retired, so I don’t work a full week on “law stuff.” I’ve pared it down to about 20-30 hours a week. I don’t go to court anymore. I don’t think I could go to court and sustain the level of writing that I’m doing now, because the court owns you—physically, in terms of going to court and all that has to be done, and mentally, because you become so invested in your cases and clients that you can’t think about anything else. My legal practice now is a lot of mediation work, simple probate, writing wills—that kind of thing. I don’t take that home with me, so I have the brain space to think about my characters and plot points.

Concerning how I structure my day, I work with a ridiculous system of timers, alarms, lists, and schedules. It’s ridiculous, but it works for me, and it helps me get it all done. I spend the first half hour of every day on writing. That’s when I work on my newest project. After that, there’s “writing work,” which involves talking to my publisher, doing my homework assignments for my publicist, posting stuff on social media, and creating designs on Canva. It all takes a lot of time; it could be a full-time job if I let it.

How have the skills you learned at Emory Law translated to your writing? Any memories you’d like to share about your time at law school?

I was at Emory Law at an interesting time. It was the transition between paper and computers. LexisNexis and Westlaw were brand-new technologies, and it was fun being the first generation to learn about all that. We could go out into the world and be the only ones who knew how to use those [research platforms] quickly. But I’m grateful that I also have the ability to use the books, because sometimes I still find that easier.

I remember being in criminal law class, learning that Old English case about the guys trapped in a boat who eat a fellow passenger because they’re starving to death, and whether it’s murder. The professor stood on the desk and asked the class, “What if the passenger said, ‘Eat me!’”? I remember thinking at the time, “That’s so stupid. That’s never going to happen.” But then you get out in the world, and you learn that the world really is that absurd. If you can imagine it, it can happen. The truth is stranger than fiction, but the problem with fiction is that it has to seem real. I used to get frustrated in law school with all the legal theory, but that’s what I’m turning to now in my writing. That’s the interesting stuff. That’s the source of the important questions.

How do you stay connected with Emory Law?

I’ll give Emory Law a plug for this: I’ve gotten a lot out of being an Emory alum. I feel like the alumni network is really strong and active and does a lot to seek out alumni and include them. It’s fantastic.

To learn more about Judge Lori Duff and to purchase a copy of Devil’s Hand, visit loriduffwrites.com.