Congratulations to third-year students Alanna Pierce and Anne M. Reynolds who helped a veteran establish permanent and total disability through their work in the Veterans Legal Clinic. Gulf War Era veteran Hunter Breedlove served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011 to 2013. After discharge, he began to receive disability compensation for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from his service. But in November 2018, the Veterans Benefits Administration proposed to reduce those payments. Working under the supervision of clinic attorney Kelly Parker, the students persuaded the VA that the veteran's PTSD merited full compensation. This win gives Breedlove permanent disability and entitles him to claim educational assistance for his children.
Congratulations to third-year students Jonathan Kaufman, John Lex Kenerly IV and Joseph H. "Joe" Stuhrenberg for winning the 70th Annual National Moot Court Competition in New York City. The team prevailed in the regional rounds and then headed to New York, where they squared off against 31 other teams from around the country. Over the course of six rounds in four days, the team ultimately won in the finals before a panel of five distinguished judges.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the University of Georgia is celebrating with a semesterlong series of events across campus designed to educate and inspire action for a more sustainable future. Counted among the events is the Feb. 21 Red Clay Conference, hosted by the Environmental Law Association, which will feature the Peter Appel Lecture by Love Canal activist Lois Gibbs, who led the fight for her community to be relocated after discovering that the neighborhood had been built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste.
First-year law student Haley K. Kairab is the winner of the School of Law's 2020 J. Ralph Beaird 1L Closing Argument Mock Trial Tournament. Congratulations to all who competed, including finalist Donavan C. Juleus, on their performances.
For Justice Robert Benham, being a judge isn't about punishing people. It's about salvaging people. "We need to give people a chance the do the right thing at the right time for the right reason," he said. Benham, the longest serving and first African American member of the Supreme Court of Georgia, talked about his journey in the justice system at the 2020 Holmes-Hunter Lecture, held Feb. 3. Named in honor of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the first African American students to attend the University of Georgia, the lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President and focuses on race relations, civil rights and education.