Lectures & Colloquia | University of Georgia School of Law

Perspectives are broadened by exposure to a host of different backgrounds, teaching styles and viewpoints from professors and by the experiences of distinguished guest lecturers. The School of Law also sponsors eminent guest scholars to teach minicourses and to speak to students each year. One of the distinct advantages of attending a law school with an established national reputation is the quality of guest lecturers it attracts.

Faculty Colloquium Series Demonstrating a commitment to scholarly engagement, the School of Law hosts a Faculty Colloquium Series through which some of the nation's top legal academics come to Athens to present substantial works in progress to the law school faculty.		International Law Colloquium Series The International Law Colloquium Series brings leading international law scholars to campus to present substantial works in progress to School of Law students and faculty.
John A. Sibley Lecture Series In 1964, the trustees of the Loridans Foundation established the John A. Sibley Lecture Series. These talks honor the leadership and public spirit of this 1911 School of Law graduate. It is hard to place the contributions of John Adams Sibley in any given decade, for his service to the law school and to the state of Georgia extended over a period of almost 80 years.		Edith House Lecture Series Inaugurated in 1983, the Edith House Lecture Series brings outstanding female legal scholars and practitioners to Athens. The lecture series is named for Edith Elizabeth House, who was co-valedictorian of the Class of 1925, and one of the first two women to graduate from the School of Law. House enjoyed a distinguished career in public service, which spanned more than 30 years.
Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Scholars/Lecturers Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Scholar/Lecturer appointments bear the name of Georgia's 74th Governor and 1948 School of Law alumnus Carl E. Sanders. They were created so law students could learn from individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders in politics or other forms of public service.		Graduation Speakers Prominent individuals in the legal field deliver the keynote address at Graduation each Spring. Most commencement exercises have video available along with related documents.
Edenfield Jurists in Residence In 2016, the B. Avant Edenfield Jurist in Residence program was made possible by a contribution from Allen W. Yee (J.D.’03), a former judicial clerk of the late Edenfield. This initiative enables one or more Article III judges to spend some time at the School of Law each year. Edenfield was a longtime federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia who earned his law degree from UGA in 1958. While in residence, jurists often teach courses and deliver lectures.		Hines Jurists in Residence In 2019, the law school established The Be Kind Fund, in memory of the late Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Harris Hines. The fund’s title is based on a frequent mantra of the late justice – “Be Kind” – and annually sponsors the Hines Jurist in Residence, which provides the opportunity for students to learn from state judges in classroom settings. While in residence, jurists often teach courses and deliver lectures.
Judge Horace J. Johnson Lectures on Race, Law and Policy In 2020, with support from the University of Georgia’s Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community, the School of Law partnered with the School of Public and International Affairs to establish the Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Lecture on Race, Law and Policy in memorialize the late jurist, who was a trailblazer for the Black community in Georgia. The inaugural lecture took place in Spring 2021 as a part of the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Desegregation at the University of Georgia.