College of Law News

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.

When I saw the college was offering mindfulness training, I was hopeful it would provide the tools I needed to manage my stress and anxiety.

Because of their defense for that Basil Elerby, two Georgia State University College of Law alumni are receiving the Gideon’s Promise Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 1.

Collaboration among students and professors is not uncommon at Georgia State University College of Law, but “swing pricing” isn’t a topic that typically brings them together. However, when the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized rules authorizing the mutual fund pricing mechanism, Holly van den Toorn (J.D. ’19) and Anne Tucker, associate professor of law, decided to collaborate on an article about their mutual interest, which the Columbia Business Law Review published April 2.

Sylvia Caley (MBA ’86, J.D. ’89) is retiring at the end of this school year after 11 years as the director of the Health Law Partnership (HeLP), a medical-legal community collaboration among Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the College of Law and the co-director of the HeLP Legal Services Clinic, which she helped found.

On April 11, the Georgia Latino Law Foundation honored Georgia State University College of Law alumna Jessica J. Wood (J.D. ’94) with the Trailblazer Award.

Members of the Georgia State University College of Law Student Trial Lawyers Association (STLA) finished as finalists in the annual South Texas Mock Trial Challenge, March 22-25, which brings together nearly 30 teams from law schools across the country.

Georgia State University College of Law is known for educating well-rounded, diverse students. Gabriel Mobley (B.S. ’17, J.D. ’21) is no exception, besides his Cure Bowl championship ring of course.

Professor William A. Edmundson, Regents Professor of Law and professor of philosophy, will give the final presentation at the Inaugural Property and Political Economy Conference on Saturday, April 21, at Chapman University’s Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, in Los Angeles.

Spencer Hsu, investigative reporter for The Washington Post and keynote speaker at the 2018 Georgia State Law Review Symposium, discussed weaknesses in forensic science and his 2012 series, Hsu was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service.

Keeping a database of police and prosecutor misconduct can change the system by holding those accountable and preventing further wrongdoing, said Barry C. Scheck, co-founder and co-director of the Innocence Project at the 61st annual Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture at Georgia State University College of Law on Thursday, April 5.

Georgia State University College of Law is ranked the No. 2 best law school for those looking to minimize and repay their student loan debt, according to Student Loan Hero, an online site that helps borrowers manage student loans for the second year in a row.

Juvenile courts continue to be haunted by historical misunderstandings about the role of child welfare court, and there is a great need for advocates to effect change, said Jerry Bruce, Court Improvement Program director for the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Justice for Children, during the Law Week 2018 keynote lunch on Tuesday, April 3.

Equal Justice Works has selected John Gainey (J.D. ’17) to serve as a legal fellow for the Georgia Housing Corps (GHC), a new fellowship program sponsored by the Georgia Bar Foundation, which addresses barriers to housing stability in Georgia’s rural and urban communities.

Brad Czerwonky (J.D. ’18), Mitch Foley (J.D. ’18) and Brandon Reed (J.D. ’18) took first place in the third annual International Patent Drafting Competition, held in Detroit in February.

Shelby McKenzie (J.D. ’18) has been selected as an American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) Next Generation Leader, one of a small group of students selected from its nearly 200 chapters who have demonstrated commitment to ACS engagement and strong leadership qualities.

A cornerstone of the Center for Access to Justice’s Pro Bono Program is the Alternative Spring Break, which allows students to spend a week immersed in a substantive legal area while engaging in related pro bono service. For the second year, the spring break program received more applications than available spots.

Georgia State University selected the Center for Access to Justice’s Pro Bono Program to receive the 2018 Carl V. Patton President’s Award for Community Service and Social Justice: Outstanding University Program Award.

Jerry Bruce, Court Improvement Program director for the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Justice for Children, will be the keynote speaker for Law Week 2018, held April 2-6 at the College of Law.

Just as there are multiple causes that led to the opioid crisis, there are multiple intersections of response needed to address it, said Abbe R. Gluck, professor of law and the faculty director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School at Georgia State Law’s Order of the Coif Distinguished Lecture on March 27.

Georgia State Law is developing a program using data analytics to identify early warning signs for bar failure and to target interventions for at-risk students, which will further improve the college’s good bar passage rate.

Georgia State University College of Law’s programs in environmental law and intellectual property law were highlighted by preLaw Magazine as among the best in the country. The college’s new law building also was ranked No. 15 for law facilities.

ATLANTA-Attorney General of Colorado Cynthia H. Coffman (J.D. ’91) will speak 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.

ATLANTA—Barry C. Scheck, co-founder and co-director of the Innocence Project and professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, will deliver the 61st annual Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture at Georgia State University College of Law at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5. The event is invitation-only.

Seven College of Law graduates will be honored with Georgia State University Alumni Association’s 40 under 40 award, which recognizes the most influential and innovative alumni who are under 40 years of age, at a reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22.

The 2018 Moot Court team of Cody Batchelor (J.D. ’19), Karina Deochand (J.D. ’18), Caitlin Fox (J.D. ’18),and Casey Holloway (J.D. ’18) will represent Georgia State Law at the Wilhelm C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition in Vienna on March 23-30.

Ana María Martinez (J.D. ’09) is an attorney for Judge Dax E. López of the DeKalb State Court. She is co-founder of the Georgia Latino Law Foundation, an organization dedicated to increase diversity in the legal profession by supporting the Latino legal community pipeline, and to increase the Latino community’s access to the legal system by educating and empowering Latinos to join the legal profession.

Lisamarie N. Bristol (J.D. ’09) is an assistant solicitor-general in the Office of the DeKalb County Solicitor-General where she is a part of the Special Victims Unit.

Petrina McDaniel (B.A. ’01, J.D. ’04) is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs. She is a commercial litigator and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) whose practice uniquely blends complex litigation, regulatory compliance, and privacy counseling.

Manoj Mishra (J.D. ’02) works in strategic customer engagement for Amazon web services. He is a senior business executive and attorney with nearly 15 years background in managing world-class teams.

Carrie O’Brien (B.B.A.’07, J.D. ’14) is the chief operating and compliance officer for Arcan Capital, a privately held real estate company focused on the acquisition and management of apartment properties throughout the southeast, mid-Atlantic and south-central United States.

Barbara Rogers (MBA ’08, M.H.A. ’09, J.D. ’15) is an associate in the health care practice at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. She focuses her practice on providing regulatory counseling for a variety of clients in the health care and life sciences industry, including nursing homes, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, assisted living facilities, hospices, physician groups and other healthcare providers.

A founding partner at Williams Teusink, Eric Teusink (J.D. ’08) concentrates his practice in corporate formation, corporate governance, commercial litigation and transactions, nonprofit law, real estate agreements, real estate litigation, foreclosure, title disputes, real estate tax, real estate tort, business tort and community association law.

ATLANTA—Jack Williams, professor of law, and Jessica Gabel Cino, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law, will be featured panelists at the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute (SBLI) March 22-24 in Atlanta.

Georgia State University College of Law’s health law program rose to No. 3 and the part-time program rose to No. 10, while the full-time program held steady at No. 65 in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings that were announced on March 20.

Nicole Motter (J.D. ’12) has been passionate about social change for as long as she can remember. However, after beginning her career working on the ground level in nonprofits, she became frustrated with many aspects of the nonprofit world.

Law practices are seeing emergent artificial intelligence (AI) technology beginning to change their world. It’s happening on many frontiers: web robots, or bots, aid in document search processes, sometimes analyzing millions of pages for information relevant to a proceeding. Many legal research platforms now include some form of AI technology and data analytics.

A DNA sample taken from a larger sample of mixed human DNA implicated Billy Ray Johnson in burglaries and sexual assaults. Johnson denied committing the crimes, but he received a sentence of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors based their case on results of a law enforcement tool running a sophisticated algorithm called TrueAllele.

Here’s a look at just a few issues that are being explored by Georgia State Law faculty in the Legal Analytics Lab.

The decline in bar passage rates has raised many questions in legal education, including prospective students wondering whether law school is worth the investment.

Charlotte Alexander, an associate professor of legal studies in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business with a secondary appointment at the College of Law, is leading the charge down this path for law students. Alexander is director of the university’s new Legal Analytics Lab, which brings business and legal scholars together with data scientists to take on legal problems and questions using data analytics tools.

“My entire life I swore I’d never be a lawyer, and if I did, I said I’d never do criminal defense,” said criminal defense lawyer Jason Sheffield (J.D. ’05). The former actor has been recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers for criminal defense work. He is also a law professor and author.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will soon become an indispensable resource to lawyers practicing in virtually every field of law.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Print Email 1991 Mike Powell of Powell IP Law was featured in the Fit Small Business Guide [...]

In the fall, the Center for Professional Development & Career Strategies implemented a mandatory eight-week Professional Development course for first-year students. In my opinion, the most important information I shared was this simple insight: relationships matter.

Data analytics will be the great disrupter and differentiator for lawyers. That is particularly true in my practice, which is mostly concentrated in complex employment litigation, primarily class and collective actions. Data about the class, the claims, the jurisdiction and the individuals who are bringing these lawsuits can be the difference between a winning case and a losing one.

This spring, after 34 years, Paul Milich, professor of law and director of Lawyering Advocacy, will teach his last Evidence class. He’s been a member of Georgia State Law’s faculty since a year after the school opened its doors. Many former students say he played an integral role in helping them become successful litigators.

Legal education and the practice of law are undergoing significant changes. Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, programming, high-performance computing and other forms of technology are transforming the way attorneys conduct research, evaluate cases and interact with clients. To date, few law schools have made any effort to adapt their curriculum to prepare for this new reality.

Historically, businesses have had to declare themselves either nonprofit or for-profit. But some businesses are blurring the lines of these long-established categories by having two main objectives: doing public good and making money.

In my practice, the most predominant use of legal analytics is in workflow automation, document analysis and document preparation — whether it is something as simple as generating contracts through an automated workflow completed by the client or something more complicated like using software to review a markup and prepare a responsive draft based upon pre-defined parameters.

In February, the Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic completed its second Pro Bono Settlement Day with the IRS in February, after successfully holding the first one back in August.

Georgia State Law’s Civil Pre-Trial Litigation course focuses on developing students’ pre-trial skills via hands-on learning. The course covers initial intake interviews, depositions and a mediation based upon information learned in depositions.

Georgia State Law faculty members continue their leadership in the area of professional identity formation through their participation in a national effort through the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions to inventory and create tools to support initiatives in this area.

Lawyers increasingly found themselves sifting through these digital landfills. Some wanted ways to responsibly reduce volume (and risk), others searched for “smoking guns” that might create risk for the organization, and still others sought evidence tied to litigation agendas.

More than 300 people, including Georgia State Law professors Lisa Radtke Bliss, Kendell Kerew and Sylvia Caley (MBA ’86, J.D. ’89), attended Breaking Down Walls: The Transformative Power of Justice Education, the 9th annual Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE) worldwide conference in Puebla, Mexico.

Law schools tend to focus, perhaps understandably, on the knowledge and skills lawyers need to serve their clients. But, in some states, 80 percent to 90 percent of litigants are unrepresented, and the number of these pro se litigants is on the rise. Understanding how lower-income people experience the civil and criminal justice systems is a vital part of a complete legal education.