The Veterans Legal Clinic recently helped a 91-year-old veteran receive disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after many years of denials. The veteran served for over 24 years, in both the Vietnam and Korean wars. He survived the 1950 Battle of Chosin Reservoir, an important battle of the latter conflict. For over one decade, he had received only minimal payments from the VA. After learning of his leukemia, the clinic successfully argued for service-connection due to exposure to Agent Orange. The increase of $3,146 per month more than doubled his combined compensation and retirement pay. This outcome reflects the efforts of several Veterans Legal Clinic teams under the direction of Associate Professor Alexander W. Scherr, including current third-year students Taylor E. Pernini and Patrick D. Testa along with 2020 graduates Anne M. Reynolds, L. Andrew "Andy" Bastone and Tyler C. Mathis.
Third-year student Devin Mashman was featured in the Daily Report for presenting oral argument before the Supreme Court of Georgia in the case Harvey, et al. v. Merchan. He represented the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic's client who was abused by her parents throughout the entirety of her childhood. The case involves the choice of law and the constitutionality of the Hidden Predator Act. The article titled "Parents Sued for Abusing Daughter Ask Georgia Justices to Strike Down 'Hidden Predator' Law" was written by Greg Land and published 2/4/21.
Associate Professor Jonathan Peters was featured on CNN Business regarding the Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The article titled "'There is real teeth to this': Legal experts weigh in on Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News" was written by Oliver Darcy and published 2/5/21.
Congratulations to third-year students Tyler D. Fabbri, Mollie M. Fiero and Devin Mashman for finishing as national semifinalists in the National Moot Court Competition. This trio won the Region 5 round of the National Moot Court Competition in November to advance to the national tier of the tournament. The National Moot Court Competition is the oldest and most prestigious moot court competition in the country. Each year, teams from more than 120 law schools across the nation compete in this contest, which is sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers.
On Feb. 15, William Elliott Stiles Jr. - an accomplished artist, Atlanta attorney and University of Georgia School of Law alumnus - will unveil a new work of art that was commissioned by the law school to commemorate the 60th anniversary of desegregation at UGA. The new creation will be displayed alongside other pieces of Stiles' "Concept Collection" that were donated to the school in 2018. Stiles said in his new piece, titled "1961," he tried to depict the historic events of the desegregation of the University of Georgia and the Georgia public school system. The artwork will be unveiled during Black History Month on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m. Those wishing to virtually participate need to register by Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. to lawalum@uga.edu or 706-542-7959.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West was featured in The New Yorker regarding the First Amendment's Press and Speech clauses and her Harvard Law Review article "Press Exceptionalism." The article titled "When Reporting Becomes a Defense for Rioting" was written by Andrew Marantz and published 2/3/21.
The Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of Georgia representing a woman who was abused by her parents throughout the entirety of her childhood. The case involves the choice of law and the constitutionality of the Hidden Predator Act. Third-year student Devin Mashman argued the case.
Adjunct Professor Weyman T. Johnson was featured on WXIA/11Alive TV regarding the city of Atlanta suspending pre-employment physical exams and drug screenings for non-safety sensitive positions. The segment titled "City of Atlanta eliminating pre-employment drug screening, physical exams for some jobs" aired 2/3/21.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues was featured in The New York Times regarding Apollo Global Management's leadership changes. The article titled "Pension Funds Are Mixed or Mum on More Cash for Apollo" was written by Matthew Goldstein and published 2/3/21.
Woodruff Chair in International Law Diane Marie Amann presented "Women at the Nuremberg Trials" as part of Chicago-Kent's Center on National Security and Human Rights Law event held on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27, 2021).
Associate Dean and Martin Chair of Law Andrea L. Dennis was featured on UGA Today as part of the university's "Spotlight on Faculty" series. The article titled "Professor challenges using rap as criminal evidence" was written by Sam Fahmy and published 1/29/21.
Congratulations to third-year students Jared R. Allen, Ian L. Kecskes and Sarah A. Nelson who finished as national finalists in the prestigious Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship. This invitation-only tournament is for the top 16 moot court programs from law schools across the country based on performances from the previous academic year. In the tournament, they defeated teams from New York University and St Mary's University. UGA continued its strong performance at this "best of the best" tournament and now boasts two championships, two finalist and two semifinalist performances since 2014.
The School of Law regrets to share news of the passing of Carter Chair Emeritus R. Perry Sentell Jr. on Jan. 28, 2021, at the age of 86. This sad announcement comes shortly after the passing of his wife, Jeannette, just eight days earlier. A 1958 law school alumnus, he retired in 2004 after 46 years of teaching and service at the University of Georgia. Sentell was a titan in the legal academy and a demanding instructor who set high expectations but with a warm heart for his students. Many of those students went on to hold leadership roles in the bar, the bench and government. Famous for his annual Palsgraf lecture, Sentell taught Torts, Municipal Corporations and Law of Legislative Government and published nearly 30 books. Among his law school honors are a bust in the Alexander Campbell King Law Library, the law school's Distinguished Service Scroll Award and an endowed scholarship fund named in his honor. He is survived by his son Robert Perry Sentell III, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Please be sure to keep the Sentell family in your thoughts and prayers during this extremely sorrowful time.
Congratulations to the School of Law's American Constitution Society student group for being named Student Chapter of the Week by its national organization. The American Constitution Society works "to uphold the Constitution in the 21st Century by ensuring that law is a force for protecting our democracy and the public interest and for improving people's lives" through approximately 200 student and lawyer chapters in almost every state and law school throughout the country.
Callaway Chair of Law Emeritus Ronald L. Carlson published Trial Handbook for Georgia Lawyers, 2020-21 ed. (Thomson Reuters, 2020) (with J. Cook and M. Carlson).
Hosch Professor Julian A. Cook III published Trial Handbook for Georgia Lawyers, 2020-21 ed. (Thomson Reuters, 2020) (with M. Carlson and R. Carlson).
Distinguished Research Professor & Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Emeritus Walter Hellerstein published "A US Perspective on the ne bis in idem Principle in Tax Cases" in CJEU: Recent Developments in Value Added Taxes 2019 (G. Kofler, et al. eds.) (Linde, 2020).
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch was featured in a Reuters article regarding diversity in multidistrict litigation lead counsel appointments. The article titled "'The needle is moving': Another MDL judge cites diversity in lead counsel appointments" was written by Alison Frankel and published 1/25/21.
Assistant Clinical Professor & Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic Director Emma M. Hetherington presented as part of the CARE Atlanta Global Innovation Hub's Tuesday Talks session titled "Tackling Human Trafficking" during January.
Woodruff Chair in International Law Diane Marie Amann presented as part of "Children of Syria - The Lost Hope," an event discussing the Ninth Annual Report on Violations against Children in Syria issued by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, a nongovernmental organization. Other participants in the event, which was livestreamed via Zoom, included officials from the United Nations and the governments of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.