Congratulations to second-year students Hanna M. Esserman, Sandon X. Fernandes, Yekaterina "Kat" Ko and Benjamin K. "Ben" Price for finishing in third place overall in the ILS Richard DeWitt Memorial VIS Pre-Moot. The Florida Bar's International Law Section hosted the competition for American schools before the teams head to Vienna, Austria, for the international rounds of the 2023 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition next month. The team is led by Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge. Third-year students Emily K. Crowell and Savannah L. Grant serve as team coaches, with support from Collin Douglas and A. Ligon Fant.
The University of Georgia School of Law is pleased to share that 1983 School of Law alumnus Michael Evert, his wife Angi and their daughters – Emily Evert Scanlon (B.B.A.’09), Georgia Evert O’Donoghue (B.B.A.’11) and Maggie Evert Jones (A.B.’13) – have made a major commitment to support the Veterans Legal Clinic. The establishment of the Michael and Angi Evert Family Endowment for the Veterans Legal Clinic offers perpetual support to help fund the clinic's operations.
Professor & Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills Director Lisa Milot was featured in the Athens Banner-Herald regarding the receipt of a $1.4 million grant from the Stanton Foundation. The article titled "UGA law school grant seeks to reduce animal abuse and neglect" was written by Wayne Ford and published 2/23/23.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West was featured in The Washington Post regarding the Dominion Voting Systems/Fox News litigation. The article titled "'Incredibly damning:' Fox News documents stun some legal experts" was written by Paul Farhi, Jeremy Barr and Sarah Ellison and was published 2/23/23. The article was republished by various media outlets across the country.
Associate Professor Christian Turner published "Interconstituted Legal Agents" in 106 Marquette Law Review 232 (2022).
Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility Nathan S. Chapman published "Fair Notice, The Rule of Law, and Reforming Qualified Immunity" in 75 Florida Law Review 1 (January 2023).
Congratulations to second-year student Amanda B. Graham, who was selected as a Distinguished Law Student for the Eleventh Circuit by the American College of Bankruptcy. The Distinguished Student program identifies and promotes prospective leaders in the insolvency and bankruptcy profession. Graham has been invited to attend the American College of Bankruptcy's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., as part of her participation in the program.
Assistant Professor Thomas E. Kadri was featured in the Augusta Chronicle regarding neighbor surveillance and home security cameras. The article titled "Does your neighbor have cameras facing your home? Here's what the law says is legal." was written by Alexandra Koch and published 2/17/23.
Congratulations to second-year students Jake R. Shatzer and Robert G. "Rob" Wedge who finished as quarterfinalists in the 52nd William B. Spong, Jr. Invitational Tournament. Wedge was named the Best Oralist of the national moot court competition. Alumna Roya Naghepour (J.D.'22) served as the team's coach, and numerous faculty members and other graduates helped the team to prepare. Approximately 50 teams compete in this annual courtroom contest.
Congratulations to third-year students Nicholas R. "Nick" Lewis and Noah C. Nix for winning the regional championship of the National Trial Competition and to classmates N. Molly Laughlin and G. Max Miseyko for finishing the tournament as regional semifinalists. Lewis was also named the competition's Best Advocate. Lewis and Nix will represent UGA in the national championship to be held in Texas during March. The teams were coached by Associate Director of Advocacy Joe Lester, Adjunct Professor Jeremy Dailey (J.D.'14) and alumna Haley Kairab (J.D.'22). Several faculty members and graduates also helped prepare the teams.
Interim UGA Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues co-edited Feminist Judgments: Corporate Law Rewritten (with A.M. Choike and K.A. Williams) (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch published "Data Versus More Data in Multidistrict Litigation" in 107 Cornell Law Review Online 268 (2023).
Wilner/UGA Foundation Professor in International Law Harlan Grant Cohen presented "Toward Best Practices for Trade-Security Measures" at a workshop titled "The Concept of Security in International Law" held at Temple University Beasley School of Law during February.
UGA Associate Provost & Kirbo Chair Elizabeth Weeks has been named the University of Georgia liaison for the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program. As a liaison, she will work with the chief academic officer at UGA to identify individuals to participate as fellows in the SEC ALDP, and will collaborate with liaisons from other SEC member universities to administer the multi-faceted SEC program.
Associate Dean for International Programs & Post Professor Melissa J. "MJ" Durkee presented “Space Law as Twenty-First Century International Law” at “The Emerging Commercial Space Age: Legal and Policy Implications” symposium co-hosted by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition and its Journal of Law & Innovation.
Veterans Legal Clinic Staff Attorney Katie Becker successfully persuaded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to award benefits to a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the early 2000s. The veteran's experiences as a combat medic caused him post-traumatic stress disorder, and an explosive blast caused a traumatic brain injury. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs initially denied the veteran benefits, finding no current diagnosis. Using a Veterans Legal Clinic-funded psychologist, Becker obtained an evaluation of the veteran with which she persuaded the VA that the veteran experiences both PTSD and TBI. The decision resulted in a substantial retroactive award and ongoing monthly payments to the veteran.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West will join the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University as a visiting senior research scholar for the 2023-24 academic year. She will work with the University of Utah's RonNell Andersen Jones to "explore how law and policy can better protect journalism and core press functions in the United States." The pair will engage scholars and practitioners in law, media studies, technology, history and political science in a series of regional workshops and blog posts, leading up to a major symposium on the "contours and future of press freedom" to be held spring 2024.
Third-year law student Colton J. Carpenter was featured on Law360 regarding a proposal to allow law students to take the Georgia bar exam before graduation. The article titled "'Inclusive' Change Eyed For Pre-Graduation Bar Exam" was written by Emily Johnson and published 2/9/23.
Assistant Professor Thomas E. Kadri received an Affordable Course Materials Grant for his course titled Regulating Digital Abuse. Awarded by the UGA Provost's office, the purpose of the grant is "to support the transition from costly course materials such as textbooks to educational resources that are free for students or cost less than $40." Notably, this is Kadri's third course materials grant. He previously created learning resources for his torts and cybercrime classes.
The Business Law Clinic was featured in preLaw magazine regarding its individual-client work involving legal services and resources for small businesses and organizations. The clinic was highlighted in the "Around the nation" section in the winter 2023 issue.