Christina Scott (J.D. ‘18) has joined the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic as a clinical supervising attorney. Scott, who is a HeLP Clinic alum, joins the College of Law faculty after spending several years as a staff attorney for HeLP, where she worked closely with clients.
When an opportunity opened to join the faculty on the clinic side, Scott said she had to jump on it. Scott spent 20 years teaching writing and research at the undergraduate level before attending law school. Her goal was to use her legal degree to continue in a research role. It wasn’t until she enrolled in the HeLP Clinic as a law student that she knew working in that type of capacity was her calling. Here, Scott discusses her new endeavor.
What are you looking forward to about working at the clinic?
Part of my job that I am excited about is building relationships with people in the community so that we can keep our program strong. I have more time for that now on the clinic side, because my case load is smaller not being a staff attorney.
Mostly, I am looking forward to getting to know the students. Rather than setting goals for what I want the course to do for the students, I’m looking forward to finding out how we can make the clinic help support their own professional goals, so I think that’s really exciting to me.
Was that level of support something you experienced as a student in the clinic?
Yes – Lisa Bliss was my supervising attorney at the time. I remember feeling as though we were her only team. Of course, she had other student teams, but she did a really good job with getting to know us and supporting what we wanted, and that is a big part of what kept me on this path.
What are your goals for the clinic?
The HeLP Clinic is a premier clinic. It’s well known across not just the state, but the country and I want to make sure that continues and I do my part. I may not have built the clinic, but I’m really invested in making sure it continues to have this great reputation and serve so many clients.
Are you happy to be working for the university you earned your legal degree from?
I chose Georgia State Law because of their great experiential learning program but also because I believe in public schools. I think that public schools are great because of the people who teach there, committing to the students and making them feel welcome. I’m more than happy to come back and continue that legacy.
Interview by Mara Thompson