Congratulations to third-year students Amelia Welch Ortiz, Charles W. Hoffman and Ian L. Kecskes and second-year student Haley K. Kairab for winning the Tenth Annual South Texas Mock Trial Challenge. Kairab received the Best Advocate Award for the final round. Notably, UGA has won this national mock trial competition four times in the tournament's history.
Appellate Litigation Clinic participant and third-year student Madison "Maddie" Conkel argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in the case Denis Aguilera Fernandez, Petitioner v. U.S. Attorney General. The clinic's client was detained and beaten by Cuban police 7-10 times over the course of two years to prevent him from protesting the Cuban government. The issues in the case were: what is the appropriate standard of review for past persecution rulings, did the clinic's client show past persecution, and does the client have a reasonable fear of future persecution.
The University of Georgia School of Law is pleased to announce that it will begin offering an undergraduate minor in the fall of 2021. The minor's flexible curriculum is specifically designed for UGA undergraduate students by allowing them to integrate their legal studies with other academic interests and courses of study. There are two required courses that are taught by School of Law faculty - Foundations of American Law and Law, Justice, and the State - while the other three elective courses can be chosen from classes taught by faculty at the law school or other units across the university.
A free virtual legal clinic for Georgia veterans will be held Saturday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Veterans in the southern part of Georgia will be able to access the clinic through physical locations located near the southeastern and southwestern Georgia/Florida borders, while veterans from across the state can connect for services via webcam or telephone. The Georgia Veterans Outreach Project provides quick advice and brief service on issues with special relevance to former military members, including veterans and military benefits and other civil legal matters, such as consumer, family, housing, shelter and other civil issues, but not criminal legal issues.
For the third year, the Provost's Affordable Course Materials Grant program will help save students money on course materials, enhance the quality of their learning experience in the classroom and increase their opportunities for success. This semester, 13 faculty members in nine schools and colleges - including the law school's Assistant Professor Thomas E. Kadri and Washington, D.C., Semester in Practice Director Jessica L. Heywood - received funding through the program to transition from costly textbooks to open and affordable educational resources. The grant program is expected to save students more than $155,000 in textbook costs per academic year.