Wednesday's Woman: Robin Wyatt

Robin Wyatt may be a real estate attorney in Snellville, but she’s also a journalist and an artist at heart.

In fact, Wyatt majored in journalism at the University of Georgia and worked for the Walton Tribune in Monroe for a year covering sports and local government. After school, she clerked for a Fulton County superior court judge and worked for a general practice firm in Decatur. It wasn’t long before she discovered her passion for real estate.

Wanting to specialize in the field, Wyatt went to work as legal counsel for the Chicago Title Insurance Company and became an expert at real estate title issues. In the early 1990s, she opened her own practice specializing in title law, title insurance and commercial real estate transactions.

She recalled it as a heady time, being part of dramatic development in a booming downtown Atlanta. Excitement spilled over from working on $100 million deals 24/7 and seeing the outcome.

“I was a tiny fish working on putting these transactions together,” she recalled.

A few years later, she decided to lessen her stress level and work in residential real estate.

“In the 90s, there was no better place than Snellville,” she said, noting that it was the town she drove through between her hometown near Decatur and Athens. “It’s where my working career really blossomed."

Over the years, Wyatt has enjoyed meeting her clients and hearing the stories they tell. They sit down with her at an important time in their lives, when refinancing or buying a home.

"I have met incredibly interesting people who may only be in my office for an hour or two," she said. "My paralegal, Laura, and I have always wished that we kept a journal. The variety of stories in this community is amazing."

She remembers one day when closings were lined up throughout the day.

“I asked a client what he did for a living and he said he made his money by owning billboards he’d inherited off Time Square in New York City," Wyatt said. "He lives here in Snellville.”

At the next closing, Wyatt said one of her client was good with electronics.

“He said he knew some guys with a garage band who needed help with their amplifiers," she recalled. "As R.E.M. became famous, he got to work on their shows. He’s now the sound and lighting man for pop music in the world, and he lives here in Snellville.”

She wondered what her next client would say: “These are interesting little nuggets you pull out when you’re talking to people. Everybody’s got a story and everyone’s somebody in Snellville."

Wyatt, who lives in Braselton, loves to travel. The phrase, “All who wander are not lost," was made for her.

“People who go riding in a car with me know that because I don’t tell them where I’m going. I know where I’m going, but I know they would get out of the car if they knew,” she smiled. “And, I never come back the same way.”

A long time ALTA tennis member, she gave up the sport when she fell in love with the North Carolina mountains. She bought a second home near Ashville in Burnsville, N.C., a community known for its art and traditional music.

She finds herself going to the mountains more than she thought she would and she paints, mostly landscapes and mostly in oil.

Another love is her dog, Pookie. A Pomeranian mix and “full of attitude,” Pookie often accompanies Wyatt to her North Road law office.

“Those who know me know it’s not humanly possible to spoil a dog more than my dog is spoiled,” Wyatt added.

Who inspires her?

"The first thought when I think of inspiration is my father. I don't mean to be corny or stereotypical but my father, a man of great dignity, who treated everyone with respect, has been my greatest role model."

"I would say my mother but I could never live up to her, her abilities and drive emerged from her childhood in the depression and her life on a farm," Wyatt wrote in an email. "My father was very intelligent, thoughtful and well read, but also worked with his hands, building furniture and raising a large garden. He and my mother will always be the real grown-ups in my life."

She added, "I also take inspiration from the women who work for my law firm.  They listen to everyone who calls, work very hard and have given me a great gift -- loyalty."