This summer, roughly 230 University of Georgia School of Law students are benefiting from more than $560,000 of support for summer fellowships, research assistantships, bar exam preparation expenses and Bridge to Practice grants.
Approximately 200 students are receiving summer fellowship and research assistantship funding totaling approximately $490,000. Last year, the law school offered a record-high 90 fellowships with funding of more than $132,000.
"Service to state and society is part of the law school's core mission," Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge said. "To further that mission, we have prioritized our efforts to increase these valuable experiential learning opportunities allowing our students to further their knowledge of the law and gain real-world experience. I would like to thank our students for answering the call to serve and grow their expertise, our faculty for connecting students to relevant research projects, our donors for supporting a range of positions and the school's Law School Association Council for endorsing use of the Law School Fund to support this strategic investment."
Given the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the School of Law reallocated resources to continue to fund Equal Justice Foundation Fellowships - which are typically supported by an annual student-run auction. The school was also able to award more Rural Justice Fellowships at higher amounts to students wanting to work in rural Georgia this summer. Additionally, increased funding was secured from generous alumni/alumnae and other sources to aid more students and to help provide roughly 90 research assistantships for those whose summer employment plans were shortened or cancelled.
Furthermore, approximately 35 Class of 2020 graduates benefited from roughly $75,000 in bar exam preparation stipends and Bridge to Practice grants, which support recent graduates. In a related partnership with Kaplan, 30 Professional Multistate Bar Review seven-day courses were offered to students for free.
"Without our alums and other supporters, many of our students would not have had the opportunity to refine and advance their legal knowledge and skills this summer," Associate Dean for Clinical Programs and Experiential Learning Eleanor "Ellie" Crosby Lanier said. "I am so thankful to those who answered the call and believe in the school's vision and our students. These learning experiences allow our students to apply their skills to variety of interests and causes, and they also help to shape their future career decisions."