On March 30, the University of Georgia will transition to online instruction for the remainder of the spring semester. The change is part of the university's effort to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To be sure, that shift will be an adjustment for both faculty and students. "Many of the concerns and distractions instructors have now are shared by their students. Empathy, communication, asynchronicity, a focus on the necessary and reassessing assessments will facilitate the transition for everyone impacted by these midsemester changes," said Megan Mittelstadt, director of UGA's Center for Teaching and Learning.
The National Jurist has published a helpful guide to law school during Covid-19 within its spring 2020 edition titled "The Coronavirus Survival Guide." Sections include a guide to self care; excelling in an online course; staying healthy, positive and productive; and five truths about online education.
The Veterans Legal Clinic has successfully helped a veteran obtain benefits from the Veterans Administration for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by several incidents of sexual assault during his time in service. The condition had severely affected the veteran's life since discharge in 1991. The VA denied his claim in 2014, and he had awaited a decision on his appeal since then. Four teams of law students, working with clinic director Alex Scherr over five semesters, prepared the evidence and argument that persuaded the Board of Veterans Appeals to grant his claim. The victory gave the veteran a retroactive award of at least $105,000 and new, ongoing monthly compensation of over $1,500 per month.
"The 2021 U.S. News & World Report rankings show that the University of Georgia School of Law continues to be among the best law schools in the country, and they support the fact that the School of Law is succeeding in its mission of preparing future lawyers to become leaders for state and society," University of Georgia School of Law Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge said.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic has won its first case in the Georgia Supreme Court. Third-year students Addison Smith and John Lex Kenerly IV prepared and presented oral argument in the case Edward Williams v. DeKalb County et al, which will allow a lawsuit challenging a DeKalb County commissioners' vote giving themselves a pay raise to proceed to trial. Kenerly and Smith are the first law students to argue before the state's highest court under a new special provision. Additionally, second-year students Amelia K. Welch, Anre D. Washington, Devin M. Sinclair, Alexander S. Cumming, Taylor S. Bussey and Steven L. Miller assisted with case research last summer.