Lisa Ballentine, 48, in music and in law, she rocked, her friends say

Lisa Ballentine whipped the crowd into a frenzy when she rocked out “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and she transported herself from her life as a partner in a high-powered law firm.

At Smith, Gambrell & Russell, Ms. Ballentine practiced employment law, chaired the firm’s labor and employment group and was a superb litigator, said fellow attorney Kathy Zickert of College Park. She was entrusted with hard decisions on performance reviews of colleagues, compensation and whether someone should be fired.

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Photo courtesy of Smith, Gambrell & Russell

Lisa Ballentine, who played professionally before becoming a lawyer, played bass for No Appeal.

“Not that many women rise to that level in the firm,” Ms. Zickert said.

With the firm’s rock ‘n’ roll band, No Appeal, Ms. Ballentine was lead vocalist and bass guitarist. She knew as much about music as she did about the law, which she had taught at Emory University.

In her youth, she sang with the bluegrass band Southbound Glory, was a songwriter and performed professionally to pay her way through college. Since becoming a lawyer, she had been a member of The First Offenders band, too.

The memorial service for Lisa Lynn Ballentine, 48, is 11 a.m. Thursday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. She died of ovarian cancer Monday at her Decatur residence. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

As a lawyer, Ms. Ballentine was dedicated to details and had a strong ability to articulate her client’s position, Ms. Zickert said. She taught Emory law school students how she applied the law in the real world, and they gave her rave reviews.

The Emory graduate valued her education and wanted to add value to others’. “She was such an extraordinary person giving back. It was always a complete cycle with her,” Ms. Zickert said.

“Her legend would tell us that she ran away from home to play in a bluegrass band,” said attorney Bobby Schwartz of Atlanta, the organizing force behind No Appeal.

Ballentine tired of living in her car and eating peanut butter to survive and entered college.

She paid her way through school performing at Steak & Ale restaurants for tips and salads, Mr. Schwartz said. She graduated from Auburn University in Alabama and earned her law degree from Emory in 1989.

Mr. Schwartz pulled the six-member band together from among Smith, Gambrell attorneys. It first performed in July 2007 and played again at the firm’s Christmas party. The rocker lawyers threw caution to the wind and gave a phenomenal performance, Ms. Zickert said. “Everybody went wild about it.”

Ms. Ballentine’s songwriting style was California rock with sort of a country bent to it, Mr. Schwartz said, and she could play anything from rock ‘n’ roll to blues to country. She added a level of professionalism to No Appeal, he said.

“She was direct and blunt and fair and to the point, just like I am,” Mr. Schwartz said. “But, on the other hand, we had a lot of heated discussions on what to play.” He would pick his favorites, and Ms. Ballentine, with her professional experience, would argue for a different song set.

“She usually prevailed because she had the better argument,” he conceded. “She could evaluate our musical talent and expertise as a group and choose what we could play well as a group. She was our artistic director, if you will.”

Ms. Ballentine’s favorites to perform were Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” and The Band’s “The Weight.” “She sang it better than The Band, in my judgment,” Mr. Schwartz said.

Survivors include her father, William Ballentine of Montgomery.