Corneill Stephens, professor of law, director of Lawyering Advocacy at Georgia State University College of Law, and the longest-serving faculty member of the College, was recently appointed the L. Lynn Hogue Professor of Law.
“I am honored and humbled to have received a professorship named after Professor Hogue. He is not only one of the founding fathers of the College of Law, but he also has been my professional and personal mentor ever since I joined the faculty,” said Stephens.
Professor L. Lynn Hogue is one of the “great eight” original faculty members who started the College of Law in 1982. He expressed his excitement about Stephens’ new appointment.
Professor Corneill Stephens stands at the front of a classroom, delivering a lecture in his distinct and memorable style.
“…[Professor Stephens] is an excellent choice. He is a gifted and popular teacher, respected and appreciated by his former students. In fact, as alumni they return for short versions of his contracts class as part of COL reunion activities to re-immerse themselves in his distinctive pedagogical style.”
Before Professor Stephens joined the COL faculty in 1985, he practiced in the litigation department at Troutman Sanders (now Troutman Pepper) and he also was an adjunct professor at the COL, teaching Litigation. From 1985 to 2018, Professor Stephens served as a part-time judge in the Magistrate Court of Dekalb County and a pro hac vice judge in the State and Superior Court of Dekalb County.
Professor Hogue said Stephens is an excellent role model for COL students with his deep ties to the legal profession.
Professor Stephens has taught courses at Emory Law School, UGA Law School, and Mercer Law School. He has shared his expertise with students overseas in Poland and Austria, and in the past, Professor Stephens held the title of Arbitrator for the State Bar of Georgia, the American Arbitration Association, and the Fulton County Superior Court.
From 1993 to 1997, Professor Stephens served as an associate dean at the COL, now as the director of the Advocacy Program he organizes, coordinates, schedules, and supervises the COL Advocacy Program and the Lawyering: Advocacy courses.
Lawyering: Advocacy is a required course in the spring semester for all second-year students. There are 19 sections, consisting of 12 students taught by adjunct professors who are experienced litigators in the greater Atlanta legal community. To ensure uniformity in quality and coverage among the 19 sections, Professor Stephens prepares all the materials to be used in the sections, including the master curriculum, syllabus, lesson plans, faculty materials, student materials, experiential exercises, and 57 end-of-semester mock jury trials.
Professor Stephens prepares all materials used in 19 sections of the Lawyering: Advocacy course at the College of Law.
“He has also advanced the COL’s role in the professional formation of lawyers by injecting new energy into the COL’s Advocacy Program, [and] with his guidance has added a Certificate of Advocacy Program and established a chapter of the Order of Barristers,” explained Hogue.
Professor Stephens is also the advisor to the COL chapter of the Order of Barristers, a national honorary organization recognizing excellence in oral advocacy and brief-writing skills.
Consistent with the goal of Georgia State University to lead as a model for inclusive excellence, in the last five years Professor Stephens has hired ten adjunct faculty members for the Advocacy program — six were women and five were people of color.
The 2023 U.S. News & World Report ranks the COL Advocacy Program as No. 24 in the nation, and the program earned a grade of A- in the Winter 2022 edition of National Jurist Pre-Law Magazine.
Professor Stephens’ accomplishments have been recognized by his colleagues and former students.
Last year, to honor his long-standing and exemplary service to the COL, Professor Stephens received the “Steven J. Kaminshine Award for Excellence in Service.” In addition, he is a recipient of the COL Teaching Innovation Grant and has been selected as “Professor of the Year” 10 times. Professor Stephens is also a perennial member of the COL Commencement Hooding Team, which is selected by the graduating class.
-Written by Jaya Franklin