Congratulations to third-year students J. Briana Hayes, Mia A. McKnight and Alexandra M. Smolyar for each receiving the Law School Student Excellence in Access to Justice Award from the State Bar of Georgia. This prestigious honor recognizes law students who have "excelled in participation in support of a civil pro bono or legal aid program" or who have "been instrumental in the development of a civil pro bono program."
During the 2022-23 academic year, approximately 420 School of Law students enrolled or re-enrolled in one of the school's clinic/externship programs and cumulatively engaged in roughly 83,000 service-learning hours. Approximately 25,000 of those hours occurred under the direct supervision of law school faculty members directing in-house clinical programs – all of which provide access to justice services for underrepresented communities and individuals.
Congratulations to third-year students Allison J. Fine, J. Briana Hayes and Robert G. "Rob" Wedge for finishing a National Moot Court regional competition as finalists. The trio will advance to the national tier of the tournament, which is sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers. Hayes was named the competition's best oralist. A special thanks goes to the faculty, alumni and alumnae and King & Spalding lawyers who helped prepare the team for success.
Georgia Athletic Association Professor David E. Shipley was recently honored by the National Football Foundation. The group is recognizing 16 faculty athletics representatives from schools across the country that have a member included in the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. Shipley will be joined by wide receiver Ladd McConkey, UGA's scholar-athlete. The honor recognizes the significant role faculty athletics representatives play in the "overall educational experience" of student-athletes and ensuring their success on and off the field.
The Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic was awarded $242,090 by the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council's TANF Grant Program for Minor Human Trafficking Services and Training to increase community-based services for survivors of child trafficking. This support will allow the Wilbanks CEASE Clinic to continue services under last year’s TANF award, which provided funding for a full-time social work advocate to ensure holistic representation and services for survivors.