College of Law News

As a dual-degree bachelor’s and J.D. student, Carissa Lavin found a diverse community in the College of Law and wants to pay it forward.

Georgia State Law hosted its first virtual Law Review Symposium with the theme “Prioritizing Prevention in Human Trafficking: Research, Innovation and Advocacy.” Susan Coppedge, former Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, was the keynote speaker.

The College of Law Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth received a grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation to research legal issues related to right-of-way land acquisition for highway projects crossing navigable waterways.

James Dean got involved with the Black Law Student Association during his first year as a member looking to help out any way he could. Now, as treasurer he continues to provide opportunities for other students.

While originally open to all kinds of law, she’s spent the past two years honing her skills in tax law, where she is in her fourth semester with the Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.

The College of Law offers students numerous hands-on learning opportunities and mentorship in a diverse learning environment.

Originally scheduled for March, the event was first postponed to October because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then eventually the decision was made to instead host it online.

Students in the Georgia State Law Legal Analytics Lab worked with the NAIC to assess state application of model consumer protection laws this summer.

Majoring in journalism during undergrad at the University of Georgia, her plan was always to make a career out of it, but her idea of what it meant to be a storyteller shifted when she took a course on public communications law.

Now in his third year at Georgia State Law, Espitia is getting hands on experience in this area by participating in the Immigration Clinic.

Peggy Walker retired in 2019 after 29 years on the bench. She continues her advocacy for Georgia children and families through policy work.

Varadarajan’s scholarship explores the balance between protecting creative output without dissuading follow-on creativity and innovation.

Professors Charlotte Alexander and Anne Tucker received funding from the NSF for their research into the use of computational methods and data science to improve legal transparency.

Georgia State Law is one of the top schools for public interest law in the country, and a myriad of funding opportunities offered through the Center for Access to Justice help students make the most of it.

One year out from graduating, Burnett is beginning as an associate at Parks, Chesin & Walbert, after completing a judicial clerkship with a federal judge in the Southern District of Georgia.

Georgia State Law graduate Ana Maria Martinez was inspired to become an attorney by her grandfather. Now, she’s giving back to the next generation through the Georgia Latino Law Foundation.

Georgia State Law health law students demonstrated resilience in responding to the challenges of the pandemic and seized the opportunity to work on COVID-19-related legal issues.

Jayla Grant wants to combine her interests in social justice and technology to eradicate the school-to-prison pipeline. She is set to be the first graduate of the J.D./M.S.D.A. dual degree program.

Kreis specializes in civil rights and constitutional law, where he’s been able to make an impact not only with his scholarship but also with public facing work.

Georgia State Law’s Center for Law, Health & Society hosted a virtual panel discussion to dive into the recent important cases impacting the LGBTQ community.

Georgia State Law faculty members have responded to the pandemic’s legal issues through policy development, research and advocacy.

Georgia State Law faculty reflect on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s visit to the College of Law as well as her impact on legal education and the nation.

All three off-campus clinics are dealing with new challenges this year working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of these challenges, students are continuing to gain valuable practice experience beyond the classroom.

After working as a public defender and civil rights attorney, Nirej Sekhon started researching constitutional regulation of American criminal justice practices.

While the world shifted toward remote work over the summer, Georgia State Law students built on their classroom experiences by participating in virtual externships.

Known for their capability to spark engaging debates and critical thinking, constitutional law courses at Georgia State College of Law are often a favorite of our students.

The law students’ project, “Standing with Our Neighbors: How Community Lawyering Can Break the Cycle of Children’s Health Disparities” was recognized with the “Break the Cycle” award.

Advocacy is at the core of Davynn Brown’s legal interests. Her long-term goal is to run a firm that helps small, minority-owned businesses startup and stay in motion.

Scott was instrumental in developing the College of Law to be the accredited school it is today. The health law program has been ranked in the top 10 in the country consistently over the past decade, currently sitting at the #2 program in the nation.

Mary Jo Schrade saw a need to give back to Georgia State Law amidst the pandemic and the rising visibility of the Black Lives Matter movement. She recently made a significant gift to provide tuition assistance to students.

Professor Anne Tucker joined an exclusive group of legal professionals recently when she was elected into the American Law Institute.

The Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth has published a new edition of its Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy in honor of Julian Juergensmeyer, who is retiring at the end of this semester.

The Center for Access to Justice hosted its annual Public Interest Keynote to inspire law students to pursue careers in public interest law and policy.

The idea for law school came to Shah as she was negotiating contracts with the landlord of a studio. Not only did she enjoy it, but she realized how much there was to it through her own research.

As CEO of Alvarez & Marsal’s tax practice, Georgia State Law graduate and Board of Visitors member, Ernesto “Ernie” Perez, strives to set his clients and employees up for success.

The goal of the Center for Professional Development is to help students navigate their legal careers, but the COVID-19 pandemic has the department pivoting to determine how best to teach these skills.

Georgia State Law’s reputation early on for training lawyers in a meaningful and practical way was what drew McEvoy to attend. He’s used that practical preparation to launch a successful career serving in the judicial, prosecutorial and private practice sectors.

Before joining the Georgia State Law faculty as part of the Lawyering: Foundations program, Byrd was the lead writer at her firm. She was winning cases without even walking into the courtroom, by drafting complex motions and appeals.

Initially, she figured she would become a criminal defense attorney. But as she got older, she started shifting her interest towards health law, which is also a field where she can make a large impact on people’s lives.

In this edition of the Georgia State Law class notes, judges are on the move and graduates are embarking on new adventures in the profession.

Georgia State University College of Law welcomes 256 new students—one of the largest incoming classes in recent years– and the most women in the college’s history.

As the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Georgia State Law student Rahma Taha, is deeply invested in helping immigrants who are caught in a broken system.

Georgia State Law students will have the opportunity this fall to take a course on the career of entertainer and entrepreneur Kandi Burruss. The course will be taught by professor Mo Ivory as a part of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Initiative, which began in 2018 to prepare students for practice in Georgia’s growing entertainment industry.

Trey Barnett has spent most of his life strengthening his empathy muscle. This summer, he participated in a virtual clerkship Fulton County Public Defender’s Office and is ready to pound the pavement to help the people who are often left behind.

As one of the leading scholars on children’s rights issues, Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law Jonathan Todres recently published a new book, The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Rights Law.

The mathematician turned lawyer joined the faculty in February 2020. His scholarship focuses in the areas of privacy, cybersecurity law and policy, and the ethics of technology and innovation.

Now, in his second year at the Georgia State College of Law, Cohen is soaking up every experience he can with the hopes of becoming a formidable district attorney.

Timothy Graves’ path to law school was anything but traditional. Graves (J.D. ’20) first attended art school, but quickly realized he preferred it to be a passion, rather than a career. Once he decided law school was the right next step, he said Georgia State Law was the obvious choice for where he would pursue his degree in Atlanta.

As assistant director of the Georgia State Law Center for Access to Justice, Darcy Meals believes that her job is to get law students out of the textbooks and into the community.

She’s heading into her final year at Georgia State Law, where Watkins has excelled not only in the classroom, but also as the president of the Black Law Students Association and a member of the Moot Court Competition Team.

Anna Foote (B.I.S. ’83) helps clients learn financial survival skills and get access to financial resources that are often lacking in communities of color.

Eight Georgia State Law students participated in virtual summer internships offered through the Georgia Latino Law Foundation.

Kelli Wolk (J.D. ’99) talks about how Georgia’s Probate Courts are adapting during COVID-19 and why she ranks Georgia State Law among her best life choices.

While the COVID-19 pandemic required many aspects of life to be shut down or put on hold, the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic has learned how to transform to continue representing its clients.

Brooke Silverthorn has been named co-director of the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic in the College of Law and assistant clinical professor.

Students and faculty in the Center for the Comparative Study for Metropolitan Growth contributed research to a new book from UN-Habitat, “Effectiveness of Planning Law in Land-Rich Developed Countries.”

This summer she’s working for Baker Hostetler and is hoping to continue after graduating. Outside of the classroom, she’s involved in several co-curriculars including Law Review, the Jewish Law Student Association and she serves on the board of Wellness in Law Society.

Professors Lauren Sudeall and Daniel Pasciuti are working with Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and a number of other organizations to track eviction proceedings in courts across the state in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic is becoming a model for how other in-house clinics at Georgia State College of Law will operate in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The clinic had already planned to offer the course in the summer semester before the pandemic hit. Instead of scaling back, it has been operating completely virtual.

The case, Norman v. Xytex, concerns whether a commercial sperm bank is subject to any form of liability for marketing and selling sperm with readily knowable undisclosed genetic abnormalities which cause genetic abnormalities in a fetus.

Eli Cohen (J.D. ’20) shares his journey of balancing life as a soldier, police officer, and now, attorney.

After finishing out his undergrad degree at Georgia State University, Theodore had his eyes set on Georgia State Law because he had grown to love Atlanta and the opportunities the city was filled with. Now, one year after graduation, he’s working as an Equal Opportunity Specialist for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Georgia State Law professors Charlotte Alexander and Anne Tucker co-authored an amicus brief filed in the Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc. Supreme Court case. In the brief, they urged the court to keep legal codes with their corresponding annotations available to the public.

Sharnell Simon (J.D. ’19) says growing up, she was always witty with a lively personality, and people were quick to point out she would make a good lawyer. Increasingly noticing the need for change at a young age, while she originally wanted to be a teacher, she set eyes on her goal of becoming an attorney.

In Patrice Ruffin’s 15 years working as a city planner, she sat across from countless zoning attorneys. Now, she’s decided to pursue a career in law.

In his 36 years with the institution, Kaminshine has made an impact in both the classroom and the administration, teaching courses such as Civil Procedure, Labor Law and Employment Discrimination Law and serving as the dean of the College of Law from 2004 to 2017.

The Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic is paving the way for how clinics will interact with clients as social distancing is continually encouraged. On June 16th, the clinic hosted its first virtual IRS Pro Bono Day.

Hannah-Lynn Apicelli (J.D. ’19) has always been a champion for the underdog. At Georgia State Law, she worked in the Olmstead Disability Rights Clinic and Animal Legal Defense Fund. Now, as an associate at Shewmaker & Shewmaker, she is getting a full education on family, military, and criminal law.

The team composed of Georgia State Law students Brian Aton, Brittany Stocus and Kayla Watkins successfully convinced the judge to grant their client Supplemental Security Income benefits for her child.

After graduating from Georgia State Law in 2019, Ptacek now practices full time as an associate for Finch McCranie. In her six months of practice, she’s done her own depositions, mediations and settled several cases.

Mary Katherine Byrne has a passion for service and teamwork. Her ambitions are set toward the JAG Corps and eventually becoming the U.S. Secretary of Education.

A second-year student in the College of Law, Stacy Marie Psomiadis, a mother of six, has relied on her experience as a longtime nurse to balance her studies with work, her new role during the pandemic as a teacher to her children and preparations for a November wedding.

Tanya Washington Hicks has felt the impacts of the coronavirus first-hand. It will forever change the way she helps educate future generations of lawyers.

In this month’s class notes, two Georgia State Law graduates are appointed to the Superior Court, and Dawn Jones takes the helm of the State Bar of Georgia.

As Professor Mary Radford puts it, the College of Law was “just a toddler” when she joined the faculty in 1984. She’s survived many of the growing pains, and now, retiring after 36 years of dedication to the institution she watched grow, she finally has the chance to look back and reflect on her time.

Steven Kaminshine, Mary Radford, Charity Scott, Doug Yarn and Julian Juergensmeyer are all retiring in 2020. Together, the professors have contributed more than 150 years of service to the College of Law.

For the first time, the College of Law held its annual Swearing-In Ceremony virtually on June 5. Hosted in an online meeting, 22 Georgia State Law graduates who passed the State Bar’s February exam were sworn into the Georgia Superior Court.

Jarvarus Gresham shares experiences from his first year of practice at Baker Hostetler and reflects on his time at the College of Law.

As the associate dean for library and information services in the College of Law and a clinical professor of law, Kris Niedringhaus encourages students to explore legal technology.

Georgia State University College of Law has the highest bar passage rate in Georgia based on results for the February 2020 exam. The College of Law’s rate was 88.9 percent for first-time test takers and 84.2 percent overall.

From law student to professor, Leila Lawlor shares how the LLM program allows her to see students’ dreams come back to life and why she loves the College of Law.

As Brewer explains, tax is a giant puzzle that permeates every area of the law. Whether it’s divorce, selling a house, starting a business or non-profit, etc., tax is implicated. If tax law merely was about “doing the math,” there would be no need for tax lawyers.

Morrison says the exploration in her scholarship over the past 11 years at Georgia State Law has allowed her to learn and grow, but it’s her students and colleagues that she most enjoys.

After a career in entertainment law and radio, professor Mo Ivory shares her contract negotiation and intellectual property law skills with the next generation of entertainment attorneys.

Georgia State College of Law held a virtual celebration to acknowledge the class of 2020 featuring photos, videos and well wishes.

Ryan Malone (J.D. ’20) realized pursuing a career in law was the right path for him after thriving on the debate team at the University of Texas. While Malone studied English and Philosophy during undergrad, he was drawn to Georgia State for the Center for Law, Health & Society. The college being in an urban setting with tons of opportunity and staying in the south checked Malone’s other boxes, and made Georgia State Law the clear choice for him.

Professors Natsu Saito and Tanya Washington reflect on how classroom conversations have and have not changed after 25 years of teaching Race, Ethnicity and the Law.

It’s no surprise that after practicing law for a couple years, Spencer established the Arden Group in 1989, a fully integrated real estate company focusing on acquiring, developing and managing high quality real estate assets throughout the U.S.

After working in human resources for more than a decade, Georgia State Law alumna and Board of Visitors member Lisa “Lee” Schreter decided to go to law school and pursue a new career.

Segall is now going on 29 years at Georgia State Law, where he is yet to take one semester off. In addition to teaching federal courts and constitutional law, he has also authored two books, Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court and the Justices are not Judges and Originalism as Faith.

Faculty and students in the Center for Access to Justice engage with housing justice issues through research, pro bono work and the annual State of the South Conference.

As student director of the Pro Bono Program at Georgia State Law, Alex Estroff’s passion for service started early. Now, he encourages everyone to give back.

Courtney Anderson, associate professor in the College of Law, studies the intersection of health equity and the law.

Hansinger says with their power, a prosecutor can ensure that justice is served and fair punishments are handed out, but also can be progressive in their approach and advocate for social change.

Imagine being able to produce a child with your favorite movie star using the DNA from a strand of hair or flake of skin. What sounds like the plot to a sci-fi thriller is actually not that far from reality.

Curcio’s scholarship stretches from critiquing the bar exam as a measure of competence in lawyers, to gender equity issues, and campus sexual assault. While these topics may appear distinct, Curcio does find a common denominator amongst them.

Not forgetting where he started is important for Najjar, which is why he’s remained so involved with Georgia State Law. Along with serving on the Board of Visitors, Najjar also endows a scholarship that a first-year law student receives every year.

Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement inspired Professor Bill Edmundson to pursue a career in law. In his class ‘What is Justice,’ he teaches students the principles of social contract theory.

Georgia State Law opened a new Immigration Clinic in spring 2020 in order to address the state’s growing need for immigration attorneys and judges. Students in the clinic work with clients who are facing deportation.

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. In recent years, Georgia State Law alums with experience in the Tax Clinic have become top choice recruits.

Beginning law school is a tough adjustment for most, and Lamarr was not exempt. But he’s not one to back down from following his dreams, even when it doesn’t go according to plan.

Georgia State Law professor Corneill Stephens keeps students on their toes in the classroom in order to prepare them for the courtroom.

Growing up, Georgia State professor of law Russell D. Covey never pictured himself becoming a lawyer. The idea only occurred to him while attending graduate school studying political philosophy at Princeton University. Political philosophy can get pretty esoteric, and Covey was on the hunt for a career that would be filled with practical as well as engaging work.

Steve Dickson talks about how his Georgia State Law education prepared him for his new role as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The College of Law has added two new experiential courses designed to give students a closer look at two highly-specialized legal areas: Mental Health & Criminal Law Practicum and Legal Technology Competencies & Operations.

After sleeping in his car on a Chicago winter evening, Glenn Wells enlisted in the Marines and decided to change his life.

College of Law class notes include an appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Atlanta Magazine 500 list, new partnerships and more.

Every spring, Georgia State College of Law hosts an Honors Day Program to celebrate student accomplishments. Due to the Coronavirus, the College of Law held a virtual Honors Week by recognizing outstanding students on Facebook and Instagram.

Georgia State Law graduate Bill Grob gives back by serving on the Board of Visitors while co-chairing the Sports and Entertainment Practice Group at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Georgia State Law graduates share how taking coursed offered through the Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative helped them find unexpected careers.

Ted Afield, director of the Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic and Georgia State associate professor of law is hoping to bring his unique viewpoint to IRSAC. Afield began a three-year term on the council in January.

Since starting at Georgia State in 2012, Anderson has developed a course in law, health and equity, and also teaches real estate transactions and property. She said an advantage to being in Atlanta is having students that care about their community and want to remain attached to it.

Professor Tameka Lester, associate director of the Tax Clinic, gives back to the community and trains law students to help real clients reconcile their accounts with the IRS.

Heled wants to ensure that the law reflects a balance between innovation and patient access to these new pharmaceuticals. However, biologics also cost significantly more to develop and manufacture than traditional drugs, and thus cost significantly more for patients needing these advanced therapies.

Georgia State University College of Law alumnus Robert Rohr (J.D. ’90) recently joined the Sun Life Family Health Center as the director of human resources and corporate compliance.

Georgia State Law professor Anne Tucker expands the bounds of legal analytics by using computer analysis to assess whether mutual funds are working for you.

In her latest book, Georgia State Law professor Natsu Saito unpacks the 17th century colonial attitudes that are undergirding race relations in America today.

Georgia State Law Review is hosting its annual symposium; this year’s topic is “Prioritizing Prevention in Human Trafficking Research, Innovation and Advocacy.” Susan Coppedge, who served as the Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons under President Barack Obama, will serve as the keynote speaker.

Scott says student well-being should to be an institutional priority. She is working to make that commitment to the students with her new course, The Reflective Lawyer.

The clinic and IRS jointly invite Georgia residents with upcoming court dates for federal tax disputes to the College of Law. The event allows them access to free legal representation from the clinic and an opportunity to discuss their case with IRS attorneys.

College of Law students, faculty and alumni were in attendance for the 65th Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture held in the ceremonial courtroom Thursday, March 5.

Georgia State Regents’ Professor and Bobby Lee Cook Professor of Law Paul Lombardo is known across the globe for his work on the legal history of the American eugenics movement, but what’s now the focal point of his career actually came about by accident.

Georgia State Law research centers collaborate on micromobility research with a focus on the pervasiveness of e-scooters in Atlanta.

Lester and Yaun educate the volunteers on basic components of the tax return such as filing status and what to look for to make sure the people actually qualify for different credits. More recently, Lester has also created an advanced training program to help volunteers address more complicated tax scenarios such as self-employment.

Will Miller joined the Immigration Clinic faculty this spring. He talks about what it is like to practice immigration law and what he hopes to achieve at Georgia State.

Kendall Kerew has been leading the externship program at Georgia State Law for the past decade. She says that she has a passion for clinical legal education, which is rooted in the unique way that it blends student learning of the profession’s knowledge, skills, and values through hands-on experiences.

Amid the continuing opioid epidemic in the United States, a new report on opioid prescribing from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine claims guidance for treating acute pain is lacking, which could play a factor in the crisis.

The Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth hosted a lunchtime lecture with Brazilian professor Romulo Sampaio.

The opportunity to do clinical work played a big factor in her decision to attend Georgia State Law. At the time, she never imagined practicing law. Instead, she saw herself as a researcher. After two semesters in the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic, her desired career path had changed.

Georgia State University’s College of Law has partnered with the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation to offer a prestigious public policy fellowship to law students with an interest in public service.

Racquel McGee came to Georgia State Law after working as a psychologist in the penal system and public defender’s office. Now, in her final semester of law school, she shares her path from family law to entertainment law.

An increase in donor generosity is helping more students at Georgia State Law get the most out of their education. This year, 183 students are scholarship recipients, the greatest number the college has ever seen.

As a fourth generation educator, Georgia State Law professor Tanya Washington wants to encourage all of her students to change the world.

The Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic allows law students to work on health-related legal cases, representing families of children with disabilities, most often fighting for supplemental security income. While the clinic usually has one or two hearings to prepare for, in the fall of 2019, there were five.

Georgia State Law professor Jonathan Todres and Dr. Angela Diaz spoke about their new book, which looks into how sex and labor trafficking can be prevented using public health methods.

Georgia State health law student Ngan Nguyen shares her family’s immigration story from Vietnam and talks about going from pre-med to pursuing a legal career.

On Jan. 16, Georgia State Law alumni and students gathered to celebrate a 26-year partnership with the Atlanta Law School Foundation. They have provided $3.7 million in support to the College of Law since 1994.

Veronica Macias talks about her journey from working in her parents’ Mexican restaurant to giving back to her community as president of the Latinx & Caribbean Law Students Association.

Associate professor Erin Fuse Brown has been named the director of the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State College of Law effective January 1. She follows Leslie Wolf, who was appointed interim dean of the law school last summer.

The Center for Access to Justice has announced five Alternative Spring Break opportunities for Georgia State Law students in 2020.

In the new book, “Preventing Child Trafficking,” College of Law professor Jonathan Todres and Dr. Angela Diaz, director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, recommend a using public health approach to end trafficking. 

Experts from around the globe gathered at the College of Law on Dec.10 for the annual meeting of the Academy of Food Law & Policy. The Center for Law, Health & Society hosted the event, where scholars discussed pressing issues ranging from reducing obesity to the future of beef.

The Georgia State Law LL.M. program helped Robert Moses return to environmental law after moving to the U.S. from Australia. As an assistant attorney for the City of Atlanta, he provides legal counsel for the Department of Watershed Management and Atlanta City Council.

From pre-med to post-grad, Jasmine Becerra plans to use her education in health law to make healthcare accessible to everyone.

A new course in the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Certificate program focusing on rapper Ludacris gives students an inside look at key contracts in the Atlanta rapper’s career.

David A. Martin, Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law Emeritus at the University of Virginia School of Law, delivered the 64th annual Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture in the College of Law on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m. in the ceremonial courtroom.

Georgia State Law swore in 99 graduates to various state courts on Nov. 15. Held in the college’s ceremonial courtroom, family and friends gathered to see graduates take oaths for the State Superior Court, Court of Appeals and/or Supreme Court.

Register for the Center for Access to Justice’s State of the South Conference, Feb. 20-21. The focus of this year’s conference is housing justice.

Law professor Clark Cunningham is using linguistic analysis to shed light on the original meaning of America’s founding documents.

Law student Sierra Lawrence wants to use her competitive drive to ensure that everyone has access to legal representation.

Georgia State Law interim dean, Leslie Wolf, discusses her path to academia and her plans to expand the school’s reputation for diversity, value and innovation.

Entertainer and entrepreneur Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Tom Luse, former executive producer of “The Walking Dead,” will participate in a full-day master class Nov. 16 presented by the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Initiative and the Creative Media Industries Institute.

Georgia State Center for Law, Health & Society hosted a lecture with professor Timothy D. Lytton about his book “Outbreak: Foodborne Illness and the Struggle for Food Safety” on October 30, 2019.

Georgia State Law graduate Abby Howd shares her passion for helping the wrongfully convicted and how her theater degree made her a better litigator.

John T. Marshall discusses working in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina, building resilient cities and teaching students to consider the environment first.

Georgia State College of Law is No. 2 in bar passage for the July 2019 exam, with an overall bar passage rate of 84.8 percent — the state average is 65.8 percent.

In his new book, law professor Timothy Lytton examines the history and complex workings of the country’s food safety system.

College of Law graduate, Paul Panusky, uses his experience as an ASL interpreter to bridge the gap between the Deaf community and the legal system.

Eugene Butler grew up in South Georgia and chose to attend Georgia State for his bachelor’s and law degrees. Now, he wants to use the law to serve underprivileged youth.

Georgia State Law hosted the LatCrit Biennial Conference, featuring scholars from across the country discussing how marginalized people experience the law.

Georgia State Law alumna Catherine Henson uses her legal experience to advocate for educational equity and give back her alma mater. In the College of Law, she serves on the board of visitors, named the atrium, and endowed a professorship and scholarship.

Linguists and attorneys collaborate on young scholars’ papers at Law & Linguistics Workshop hosted by professor Clark Cunningham at Georgia State Law.

Kinda Abdus-Saboor, a lecturer and externship supervisor in the College of Law, talks about helping young attorneys develop cultural awareness and her passion for juvenile justice.

College of Law alumnus Mawuli Davis on fighting for justice, giving back and why he stays connected to Georgia State Law.

The College of Law is ranked No. 7 overall Best Value in preLaw Magazine, and received accolades for its business law, tax law and trial and advocacy programs.

Recent College of Law graduate Furhawn Shah wants to use his law degree to help domestic violence victims and make his mom proud.

The Georgia State Law community includes successful alumni from around the world. Look at what our graduates have been up to in our digital class notes.

2019-2020 Georgia State University Law Review editors Kassi Conley and Parth Matalia discuss why law reviews still matter and tackling human trafficking.

Jason Fletcher’s work as a state trooper inspired him to transfer his law enforcement experience from the streets to the courtroom.

Faculty in Georgia State Law’s Center for Law, Health & Society have been awarded a grant to develop an undergraduate diversity in bioethics course. Students in the Honors College can enroll in spring 2020.

The Georgia State Law chapters of The Order of the Coif and The Order of Barristers inducted 27 students and two honorary alumni this week.

Alexis Martinez joined the Georgia State Law leadership team last year. She is making it her mission to help students make the most of their law degree.

Attorneys Carolina Antonini (J.D. ’89) and Martin Rosenbluth came to Georgia State Law to discuss the state of immigration law in Georgia and the college’s new clinic.

PreLaw Magazine featured Georgia State Law in the 2019 Back To School issue for excellence in employment outcomes and health law.

The College of Law marked Constitution Day with a debate about Originalism vs Living Constitutionalism, and whether judges should be bound to, or persuaded by, history.

Dan Johnson (J.D. ’19) was determined to change his life after working in the restaurant industry. He came to Georgia State Law and fell in love with data privacy law.

Brooke Silverthorn wants to help professionals in the M.J. program expand their career possibilities and discover their passions.

College of Law professor, Erin Fuse Brown, received a grant to study policy and regulation of air ambulance bills in order to protect consumers.

Meagan Chinnis decided to pursue a career in law after losing a close friend to violent crime. Here, she talks about finding her place and the pursuit of justice.

Georgia State Law student Lina Machado Bejarano shares her journey of leaving Colombia, seeking asylum in America and preparing to graduate from law school.

Georgia State Law alumnus Gregory Fosheim (J.D. ’14) combines his experience as a microbiologist and passion for health law to help underserved communities.

Three law students from the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic won a court victory for a child with a disability this spring.

Professor Jonathan Todres, whose research areas of expertise include children’s rights and human trafficking, was one of three faculty members awarded the title of Distinguished University Professor this year.

Susan Navarro Smelcer joins the Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative after starting her career in antitrust law. Here, she talks about her journey to teaching and why there’s no getting around big data.

Mawuli Davis (J.D. ’02) Davis delivered the Public Interest Keynote through the Center for Access to Justice. Davis encouraged students to find what they’re dedicated to and build a career in public interest law.

The Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University College of Law and Atlanta Legal Aid Society hosted the “Olmstead at Twenty: The Past and Future of Community Integration” symposium on August 8 and 9.

A law professor for most of the day, Samuel Donaldson also turns a trade as a builder of puzzles and often finds ways to cross one with the other.

Professor Ryan Rowberry discusses his research on cultural heritage preservation, climate change and creating a better learning environment for law students.

This summer, Georgia State Law faculty led the Study Space workshop in Lisbon, Portugal that examined the effects of the sharing economy and over-tourism on cities.

Georgia State Law’s Pro Bono Law Program is partnering with The Justice Collaborative and Georgia Lawyers for the Arts to offer law students more practice opportunities.

Georgia State University College of Law welcomes 220 first-year students to campus—one of the largest incoming classes in recent years.

Georgia State University College of Law ranks as the 17th best law school in the country for black students, according to the Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools and Firms.

Ted Afield, associate clinical professor of law and director of the Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Georgia State University’s College of Law, has been named chair of the Section on Teaching Methods for the Association of American Law Schools.

Third-year law student Casey Tuchscher (J.D. ’19) argued an Earned Income Credit case at the IRS calendar call on April 29, and won her case.

Emily Torstveit Ngara will lead the new Immigration Law Clinic at Georgia State University College of Law. The clinic will start taking clients in January 2020.

The IRS paid a visit to Georgia State Law’s Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer clinic to collaborate on ways to better serve Georgians.

Whitney Woodward has many titles—wife, mother, vice president of Total Rewards and risk management at RaceTrac and now student in Georgia State Law’s part-time J.D. program.

Lisa Radtke Bliss, clinical professor and associate dean the College of Law, will teach a health law course and a human rights clinic this fall in the Czech Republic as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair.

For low-income families, tax season can be especially stressful, and that’s where the Georgia State Law’s Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic steps in. The clinic sponsors two IRS Pro Bono Days per year to help Georgia residents resolve federal tax disputes.

Georgia State University College of Law is introducing the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Certificate to prepare students to practice in Georgia’s growing entertainment industry.

Claudio Sandoval (LL.M. ’19) was once a political exile. Now, as the Venezuelan ambassador to Honduras he hopes to bring about democratic changes in his native country.

In January, Professor Charity Scott spoke about health & wellness in legal education at a symposium entitled “The Integrated Lawyer: A Symposium on Well-Being and the Practice of Law” at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Georgia State University College of Law had the highest bar passage rate in Georgia for the February 2019 exam.

Leslie Wolf, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center of Law, Health & Society, has been appointed the interim dean of the College of Law at Georgia State University, effective July 1.

Wendy Hensel, dean of Georgia State University’s College of Law since 2017, has been appointed interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the university, effective July 1.

Georgia State University College of Law announces exciting changes to the name and scope of its affiliated Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation (ACIAM). The center expands its mission on July 1, 2019, to include domestic arbitration and mediation services.

Georgia State Law’s health law program, ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, was well represented at the 21st annual conference on the Fundamentals of Health Care Law.

Michael Murphy’s (J.D. ’19) path to law school was anything but traditional. Murphy served in the Georgia Army National Guard before starting at Georgia State University College of Law, including a 2005 deployment to Mahmudiyah, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Georgia State University is part of a national group of leading innovative institutions that has received a $2.4 million grant from the Strada Education Network to redesign the college-to-career pathway.

In just the last year and a half, the Pro Bono Program has facilitated more than 1400 hours of student pro bono service under the supervision of practicing attorneys in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.

The State Bar of Georgia offered a new three-day conference to address the crisis in the legal profession regarding attorneys’ increasing levels of stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and suicide.

Located at the intersection of law and medicine, the HeLP Clinic is well positioned to train the next generation of lawyers and physicians to address the complicated, multi-faceted problems of today in a collaborative, dynamic way.

On January 24 and 25, the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University College of Law hosted the Journal of Legal Medicine’s inaugural symposium, “Solving America’s Drug Pricing Problem.”

Next week, Hannah Clapp (J.D. ‘20), Kishan Patel (J.D. ‘19), and Samuel Richards (J.D. ‘20) will be in White Plains, New York, to represent GSU Law at the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.

Lisa Radtke Bliss, clinical professor and associate dean of experiential education and clinical programs in Georgia State University’s College of Law, has been named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have announced.

The Georgia State University Alumni Association has named the honorees in its 2019 class of distinguished alumni under the age of 40.

A new semester brings fresh opportunities to achieve academic success. Georgia State is excited to welcome back all of our new and returning students for the spring 2019 semester.

Adebola Akinola-Aguda (B.S. ’15) writes programs for robotic systems that solve lots of problems for other people.

Luz Lituma (B.B.A. ’11), an avid hiker and adventure lover, founded LatinXhikers to promote a culture of diversity in the outdoors and to help protect and preserve our lands for the future.

Georgia State University College of Law will give its community-oriented programming to the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA) in a new collaboration to begin in 2019.

Professor emerita, nutrition consultant and author Chris Rosenbloom (Ph.D. ’89) tells us how folks of all ages can create healthy habits that can last a lifetime.

At a time when the national bar passage rates are at a 34-year low, Georgia State University College of Law’s state bar passage rate has increased from 2017 for first-time test takers and overall test takers.

In a new book, law professor Eric Segall examines the contentious doctrine of “originalism” — the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution that claims to follow the document’s original meaning — and how it’s evolved from judicial theory to political weapon.

Georgia State Law’s Center for Law, Health & Society has partnered with the American College of Legal Medicine on its interdisciplinary publication, the Journal of Legal Medicine.

Gabe Mobley, a four-year starter for the football team, is in his second year of law school.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Print Email 1989 Dawn R. Smith of Smith & Lake was named to the 2018 Super Lawyers [...]

In 1986, Georgia State Law appointed Marjorie Fine Knowles as dean. At the time, only a handful of law schools were helmed by women — around six percent. Wendy F. Hensel, who was named dean in November 2017, is the fourth woman in the law school’s top role (out of six total deans). While Georgia State Law has had a history of women leadership, women have only begun to close the gap nationwide.

In my first year, I have found myself floating between feeling confident in my grasp of what is going and then feeling completely overwhelmed and realizing there aren’t enough hours in the day. Sometimes it feels like my first year is just one big initiation into living life in six-minute intervals and constantly turning to legal search engines.

During his 30 years on the bench, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy angered people across the political spectrum. His decisions on gay rights, abortion, and prayer in school alienated the right, while his decisions on corporate speech, sovereign immunity and congressional power disturbed the left.

With the rapid growth in film and TV production in Georgia, there is a need for good legal representation at all levels of the business and this provides a way to build that legal talent locally, said Mo Ivory, professor and director of Georgia State Law’s Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Initiative.

Learn how to set up your entertainment business, what you should know about contract provisions, how to protect your intellectual property and more at this all-day seminar featuring experts in the legal, entertainment and sports fields.

A panel of constitutional law scholars will discuss U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinions, as well as his role as the court’s key swing vote at “The Swing Justice: Reflections on the Career of Justice Anthony Kennedy” at Georgia State University College of Law on Friday, Oct. 5, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

When Phi Nguyen (J.D. ’09), litigation director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice –Atlanta, chose to pursue law school, the decision didn’t feel entirely like her own, but she quickly discovered that being an attorney armed her with the skills to fight injustice.

Beatrice Yorker’s research on serial murder by health care professionals and Munchausen by Proxy has led to more safeguards to protect patients and children.

I love being handed a problem and the resources to answer it, marrying research and advocacy skills.

When I began as a student at Harvard Law School more than two decades ago, I heard stories about the days when there were only a handful of women law students in attendance. I remember being incredibly grateful that these women had the courage to demand a seat at the table for me and my female classmates, who then filled about 30 percent of the incoming class.

When changes in her profession urged her toward a new career, Dawn Jones (J.D. ’00) walked across the street from Grady Hospital, where she was a full-time nurse, to Georgia State Law, where she enrolled as a part-time student.
“I didn’t have a clue about being a lawyer or navigating law school,” said Jones. “It was painful, but I figured it out.”
The kindness of students was one thing that helped her.

When I started my career, there were not a lot of women in the public sector. Now there are more women in law school, more women in general counsel positions and slightly more women in the public sector. There are more women in the workforce, but I’d like to see more women in leadership roles.

ATLANTA—Commissioner Kara M. Stein of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will deliver the 62nd annual Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture at Georgia State University College of Law at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27. The event is invitation-only.

The eight-year-old girl put a chilling title to her written and pictorial narrative of sexual abuse by her mother’s boyfriend: “It Happens at Night.” That little girl is one reason Chris Cohilas (J.D. ’02), a partner at Watson Spence, helped create Lily Pad, a sanctuary for the sexually abused in Albany, Georgia.

While writing her dissertation in neuroscience, Susanne Hollinger (J.D. ’08), now head of patents for The Coca- Cola Company, discovered something. She was about to become the world’s expert on one specific protein.

As lawyers, our practice includes the constant process of teaching others. And if you already have a mentee (or several), you know about reverse mentoring: even experienced practitioners have much to learn. You can give back to others and reap the benefits of mentoring. Here are some ideas that you can implement today, with particular focus on mentoring women.

Georgia State University is ranked the second most innovative university in the nation and second in the country for its commitment to undergraduate teaching in the 2019 Best Colleges edition of U.S. News & World Report magazine.

Georgia State University College of Law was named among the top law schools for public interest law by preLaw magazine. The college was one of 12 to receive an A+ ranking by the magazine in its Back to School 2018 issue.

The Honorable Catherine M. Salinas, United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, delivered the second annual Public Interest Keynote address at Georgia State University College of Law. Salinas encouraged students to begin thinking about their professional identity as lawyers and to commit to serving the public interest, whether full time or by doing pro bono work as part of a different full-time career.

Litigation was not the obvious choice for Maria Batres (J.D. ’11) when she decided to pursue a law degree. An introvert, the former middle and high school social studies teacher wasn’t entirely comfortable with public speaking outside of the classroom.

Georgia State University College of Law and the Center for Law, Health & Society welcome Margaret Middleton to the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic. Middleton will serve as co-director of the HeLP clinic, following the retirement of HeLP’s founding director Sylvia Caley (MBA ’86, J.D. ’89).

Veronica Macias (J.D. ’21) sorted through books with a group of incoming first-year Georgia State Law students while volunteering at Books for Africa. During their community service project, the students reminisced about the books they read as children.

Georgia State University College of Law has a new senior director of Law Admissions, as of May 2018. Monique McCarthy is in position and has already began to set goals for the Law Admissions department.

Law and analytics students work together to build predictive models for case outcomes in Legal Analytics Lab sprint.

Like many leaders and faculty members at Georgia State Law, Associate Dean for Student Affairs Kelly Cahill Timmons puts students first. In fact, it’s part of why she has decided to step down from this role. After serving in the position for 11 years, she’s ready for a change, but there are some extraordinarily selfless reasons too.

Leslie E. Wolf, professor of law and director of the Center for Law, Health & Society, was among the five Georgia State University faculty to receive a Distinguished University Professorship. This prestigious honor recognizes faculty who have an outstanding record of scholarship, as well as a history of substantial contributions to the University and profession.

On May 5, 2018, (nearly six years after meeting in Georgia State Law Orientation), Kristin Roquemore (J.D. ’15) and Trent Duke (J.D. ’15) exchanged wedding vows at The Trolley Barn in Inman Park – and Associate Dean for Student Affairs Kelly Cahill Timmons officiated.

Dawn M. Jones (J.D.’00) was installed as treasurer of the State Bar of Georgia, Ana Maria Martinez (J.D. ’09) was appointed to its Board of Governors and J. Antonio DelCampo (J.D. ’94) was elected to the board’s executive committee.

The State Bar of Georgia recognized recently retired Georgia State Law professor Roy Sobelson’s service to legal education and the justice system during its annual meeting in June.

Joyce Gist Lewis (J.D. ’99) and Sutton Connelly (J.D. ’09) have been elected to the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors and were installed during the State Bar’s annual meeting in June. They will serve for two years.

When Lauren Sudeall Lucas, associate professor of law and faculty director of the Center for Access to Justice, wrote “Keeping Gideon’s Promise: Using Equal Protection to Address the Denial of Counsel in Misdemeanor Cases,” she wanted to engage practitioners and policy-makers with its ideas and influence their thinking about how to advance indigent defense reform.

Georgia State University Law Dean Wendy F. Hensel, along with professors Eric J. Segall, Ryan Rowberry and Julian C. Juergensmeyer, will speak at the Poland-U.S. Conference on the Rule of Law held by The Center for American Law Studies at the University of Warsaw Faculty of Law and Administration on June 26.

“Investing has the ability to change an individual’s life, to take your family from one place and one plan to another, or to help you achieve a new goal,” said Commissioner Robert Jackson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at a town hall meeting held at Georgia State University College of Law on June 13.

Georgia State University College of Law’s Center for Access to Justice has released a report, “Mississippi’s No-Counsel Courts,” detailing the denial of counsel in state criminal courts in Mississippi in violation of the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment.

In May, the Atlanta Bar Association leadership transferred from Margaret Vath, senior lecturer in law, to Nicole Iannarone, associate clinical professor—the first time presidents representing a law school have served in immediate succession. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Atlanta Regional Office will host an Atlanta Investor Town Hall from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, at Georgia State University College of Law, 85 Park Place NE.

Georgia State University College of Law is ranked No. 25, tied with Cornell University, for bar passage rates in the Internet Legal Research Group’s 2017 Raw Data Law School Rankings Report.

“It’s revolutionary,” Chief Judge Stephen Dillard of the Georgia Court of Appeals said of Georgia State Law students’ linguistic and historical research into the original meaning of various provisions of the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights using the Corpus of Founding Era American English (COFEA) database.

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) recognized the Georgia State University College of Law chapter with a 2018 ACS Program Award, which honors ACS student chapters that conducted at least 20 “substantive and compelling events” during the school year.

Margaret “Meg” Elizabeth Butler, associate director for public services, wrote three chapters in the book Negligence: Policy, Elements, and Evidence, which will be available in the coming weeks.

Georgia State University College of Law graduates finished with an 88 percent passage rate for first-time takers on the February 2018 exam, well ahead of the state rate of 70.4 percent and that of other law schools.

“I encourage you to allow yourself the grace to seek out a place where you can do what you really want to do, and what you do best,” Attorney General of Colorado Cynthia H. Coffman (J.D. ’91) said to graduates at the 2018 Commencement and Hooding Ceremony on May 11. Georgia State Law awarded 183 juris doctor and 18 master of laws degrees during the ceremony.

The outgoing Georgia State University Law Review board celebrated its achievements that include amending its bylaws and editing process at its annual luncheon on April 19, as well as sharing the vision of the incoming board.

Attorney General of Colorado Cynthia H. Coffman (J.D. ’91) will deliver the address at Georgia State University College of Law’s Commencement and Hooding Ceremony at 10 a.m., Friday, May 11, in the Georgia State University Sports Arena, 125 Decatur St. The graduating class of 183 J.D. and 18 LL.M. students chose Thomas Michael “Mike” Hodell (J.D. ’18) as the student speaker.

As a child, Yasmin Assar (J.D. ’18) would sit down with her parents every week to watch one of their favorite TV shows, the legal drama “The Practice.” From then on, when she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, her answer never wavered—a lawyer.

More than 300 guests joined Georgia State University College of Law faculty and staff to celebrate and recognize the exceptional service of Sylvia Caley (M.B.A. ’86, J.D. ’89), Cheryl Jester-George, Paul Milich and Roy Sobelson, who are retiring this year.

Over her 30 years at the College of Law, Cheryl Jester-George was success and leadership served as a model to others, said Steven J. Kaminshine, professor of law.

Some titles are formal; others are not. Professor Roy Sobelson has gained several since joining Georgia State Law in 1985. Official positions he has served in include professor of law, associate dean for academic affairs, and director of the LL.M. program. In addition, students have given him nicknames like Sobe-Wan Kenobi and The Law School’s Dad to describe the roles he has played in their law-school experiences and lives.

When Brandon Reed (J.D. ’18) came to Georgia State Law, he’d been working as a sales representative for a medical device manufacturer for five years. The Georgia Institute of Technology graduate loved what he did. However, he wanted to continue his education; he just wasn’t sure in what way — at first.

As part of Teach For America, Andrew “Andy” Navratil (J.D. ’18) taught fourth- and fifth-grade math and science for two years in Miami before becoming a coach to train new teachers and then an academic dean of a charter middle school. After eight years in education, Navratil decided to pursue the career that he had thought about since middle school.

Jessica Williams-Vickery (J.D.’18), editor-in-chief of the Georgia State University Law Review, is more of a carrot than a stick kind of person when leading others toward a goal.

While at Georgia State Law, Karina Deochand (B.S. ’15, J.D. ’18) took advantage of several opportunities that piqued her interest in pursuing a legal career in an area with an international scope.

As the student commencement speaker this year, Thomas Michael “Mike” Hodell, 52, wants to impart what it has meant to him personally to attend Georgia State Law and embark on what he calls “my third career.”

He won the lottery. Now he’s graduating from law school—again. Serge Luhaga (LL.M. ’18), recipient of this year’s Pro Bono Award, graduated from law school and worked as an in-house counsel in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo when the manager of his father’s cybercafé, similar to a “FedEx Office,” urged him to apply online for the United States’ diversity visa.

“Jack Hardin is the quiet man in Atlanta who has been effective, diligent and determined over so many years in dealing with the problem of homelessness, indigent defense, health care for the needy and so forth,” said Emmet J. Bondurant. “He has never sought credit or the limelight for [his service]. He has been the quiet man for which the community depends on so much of its progress.”

A Georgia State Law Moot Court team won Best Brief and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Cardozo Entertainment and Copyright Law Moot Court Competition in New York City for the second year in a row. The Cardozo competition is one of the premier intellectual property law competitions in the nation.

Attorney Edward J. “Jack” Hardin, an advocate and leader in efforts to protect and enable homeless and poverty-stricken people for decades, will be honored with the Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award on Thursday, May 3, at Georgia State University College of Law.