Georgia State University College of Law started the school year off by expanding their faculty. Seven new professors with a wide range of specialties joined the College of Law this fall. Their specialties include legal technology, generative artificial intelligence, constitutional law, corporate law, anti-discrimination law, health law and environmental law.
The latest additions to the faculty reflect the College’s continued commitment to technological advancement, innovation, students’ practice readiness and strategic vision. Each faculty member is equipped with deep expertise and insight, as well as a passion for preparing students for the ever-changing demands of modern legal practice.
Michelle Hook Dewey – Associate Dean for Law Library and Information Services
Associate Dean Dewey will help pave the way for an expansion of the college’s Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative’s (LAII) curricular offerings and empirical faculty support in legal analytics, legal innovation and quantitative methods. Prior to joining the college, she spent five years in an AM. Law 100 firm as the legal research services manager where she managed the firm’s national research team.
Kyneshawau Hurd – Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor Kyneshawau Hurd’s research examines the intersection of anti-discrimination law, corporate law and social psychology. She explores how ideas about difference shape corporate governance, venture capital investment and universities, and how these practices appropriate the meaning and reach of civil rights. She completed her J.D. in 2022 at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and received her Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2024.
Walter Johnson – Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor Walter Johnson is an assistant health law professor. He teaches Legislation & Regulation, Health Law and Biotechnology Law. His research explores how law, innovation and technology interact to produce new forms of regulation and politics, especially in health and medicine. In the past, Professor Johnson was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Law and the Biosciences and he has taught courses in regulatory policy and technology governance at the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University.
Justice Harold Melton - Special Advisor to the Dean
Justice Melton serves as the College of Law’s first expert-in-residence. He is a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, and he was a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke. He will help cultivate connections and relationships with alumni, donors, foundations, corporations and other key stakeholders in the community. He will also help organize College of Law alumni to champion the institution among community, corporate and political partners and donors.
“I am so grateful to have been welcomed so warmly into the College of Law family,” said Melton. “I'm excited to help advance the mission in any way I can. There are so many partnerships and alliances to be formed and enhanced to let the world know firsthand of the great work being done here.”
Phyllis Morral Schneider – Lecturer of Law
Lecturer Schneider teaches Lawyering Foundations. She provides her students with the foundational skills necessary for successful legal writing where she draws on her experiences as a practicing attorney. She earned her J.D. with honors from Emory University School of Law. During her time at Emory, she was a managing editor of the Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review and served as treasurer of the Legal Association of Women Students.
Kerry Shibib – Assistant Professor, Legal Technologies Librarian
Assistant Professor Kerry Shibib specializes in legal technology with a focus on generative AI. His classes will cover legal technology and research. He will also serve as a legal technologies librarian in the Law Library. Prior to joining the college, Shibib practiced corporate litigation at two large firms after he graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar from Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the bar in both New York and California. in both New York and California.
Andrew Willinger – Assistant Professor of Law
Assistant Professor Andrew Willinger teaches constitutional law and civil procedure. He specializes in the Second Amendment, firearms regulation, and the use of history and tradition in deciding constitutional cases. He has published work in the Washington University Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review and has been cited in district and appellate court decisions. Before joining the college, Willinger served as the executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law. He has been featured on CNN, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.
"I'm thrilled to join our distinguished constitutional law faculty at a school that combines intellectual leadership with a commitment to student success,” said Willinger. “From my first day, I've felt welcomed by colleagues who are generous with their time and students who are curious and engaged."
Guanchi Zhang – Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor Guanchi Zhang teaches property, state and local government and environmental law. He specializes in the comparative study of urban law and political economy. His research focuses on qualitative and doctrinal methods in exploring how law manages the conflicts inherent in urban development. Prior to joining the College of Law, Professor Zhang taught at Vermont Law and Graduate School. He received his doctor of juridical science (S.J.D.) from Harvard University, where he received the Distinction in Teaching Award, the F.Y. Chang Fellowship, and the Dean’s Scholar Prize.
“We are excited to welcome new faculty to support our library, clinics, classes and legal writing program,” said College of Law Dean Courtney Anderson. “Georgia State Law prides itself on student success and academic excellence. Our consistent ability to recruit top faculty who are experts in their field and who are passionate about providing an innovative and engaging educational experience is one of the many things that makes this law school so special.”
Written by Laura Osnard (J.D.’27)