"Your commitment to excellence in the field of law has led you to this remarkable milestone, and we’re here to celebrate your well-deserved success,” said Georgia State University College of Law Dean Courtney Anderson as she welcomed students, honorees and their guests to the joint Order of the Coif and the Order of Barristers ceremonies on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Georgia State University College of Law inducted 20 student honorees and one honorary alumni into the Order of the Coif and 10 student honorees and one honorary alumni into the Order of Barristers. These esteemed societies celebrate excellence in the scholarship and advocacy of law students nationwide.
The Order of the Coif is a national honor society recognizing law students who graduated in the top ten percent of their class. Chapters of the Order are established at institutions who demonstrate a culture of scholarship, humanistic engagement and students pursuing the interests of justice at the highest levels.
Professor Nirej Sekhon, secretary of the Georgia State chapter, inducted students into the order, naming them among the best and the brightest law graduates in the country.
Professor Nirej Sekhon, secretary of the Georgia State chapter, inducted students into the order, reminding them of its storied history reaching back to medieval England and the distinction of ranking among fewer than half of American law schools with a chapter of the order. “I share that story to emphasize that you’re not just our best and brightest; you are among the best and the brightest law graduates in the country,” he said. “You should be proud of that distinction. Carry that honor with you.”
The Order of the Coif honorary alumni inductee, Bill Grob (J.D. ’00), is a shareholder of Ogletree Deakins Law Firm in Tampa, and has represented employers and executives since he began his practice more than two decades ago. Grob has served as lead trial counsel in cases all over the country and is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. Since 2018, Grob has been a member of the Georgia State University College of Law Board of Visitors, the first to serve in that capacity from out-of-state.
"I have tremendous respect and gratitude for Georgia State Law,” he said, reminiscing about his years in law school. “No other school could have offered the range of internships I had, [including] the Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, law firms and more. Those experiences shaped my career.”
L. Lynn Hogue Professor of Law Corneill Stephens inducted the 2025 class of the Order of Barristers, an honorary society inducting students who have mastered oral and written advocacy through sustained competition..
L. Lynn Hogue Professor of Law Corneill Stephens introduced the Order of Barristers as an honorary society inducting students who have mastered oral and written advocacy through sustained competition. The Order of Barristers began in 1965 to honor graduating seniors who had demonstrated outstanding ability in moot court and mock trial participation.
This year’s honorary inductee into the Order of Barristers, Joyce Gist Lewis (J.D. ‘99), is a co-managing partner of Krevolin & Horst, LLC, a majority-woman-owned law firm. She has twice been elected to the executive committee for the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors, and was the first woman of color to be elected president of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. In spring 2025, Lewis accepted a limited-term position on the faculty at Georgia State Law as an adjunct professor of Advocacy. She currently serves on the executive committee for Georgia State Law’s Bleckley Inn of Court and is a member of the Board of Visitors.
Among her remarks to the student inductees were encouragements to be grateful, faithful, humble and present in their careers ahead. She recounted the law professors who made a mark on her growth as a student and a litigator, reminding students to remember those who played a similar role in their lives.
“Someone has done the same for you as those professors did for me,” she said. “I encourage you to honor that investment by paying it forward. Each of us owes something. to someone else. And our lives are immeasurably richer for paying that debt forward, whenever we have a chance.”
The full lists of 2025 inductees are as follows:
Order of the Coif Class of 2025
Jessica Crisler, Nicole Cruikshank, Nicholas Doss, Kayla Foley, Dana Ford, Celine Guenther, Arooj Khalid, Aditya Krishnaswamy, Samuel Kuttner, Alex Lunka, Morgan McClure, Addison Morgan, Harry Mullen, Elizabeth Nisbet, Maxwell Rogers, Mark Schwabacher, Jacob Schwartz, Joseph Shields, Jacqueline Williams, Noah Wilson
Order of Barristers Class of 2025
Claire Adcox, Mackenzie Bomar, Charlie Boyter, Amani Grant, Ayanna Grant, Celine Guenther, Nisha Lee, Andy Paul, Michael Smart, Emily Witt