Summer public interest fellowships provide important hands-on learning opportunities for law students. At the School of Law, financial support for these experiences has been on an upward trajectory since 2017. In fact, over the last five years, there has been a roughly 450% increase in support. This growth continues with the establishment of the Bool Simkins Summer Fellowship for Public Interest Fund. Created by married 2010 graduates Kevin Murphy and Elizabeth (Freeman) Murphy, the fellowship will be the law school’s largest annual public interest fellowship award and will support a top performing student with a full summer public interest/pro bono placement after completing his or her second year of law school.
Due to anticipated inclement weather and as a state of emergency will be in effect for Clarke County, the Alexander Campbell King Law Library will remain closed through Sunday (1/16). Please note this is a complete closure and includes the 24/7 card swipe access. Current plans are for the library to re-open at 1 p.m. on Monday (1/17). At this time, the law school buildings will remain open. Further updates will be sent as they become available.
Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Gregg D. Polsky published "Taxing Residential Solar" in 74 Tax Law Review 69 (2020).
Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge and second-year student Emily K. Crowell published "Supreme Court's Ruling on Alleged Nazi-Looted Painting Could Be Far-Reaching" in the Daily Report on 1/12/21.
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic successfully settled Oviedo de la Cruz et. al. v. Mayorkas et. al., a lawsuit filed in 2021 against the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The lawsuit alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result of the lawsuit, 17 clients received favorable agency determinations resulting in deferred action and employment authorization pending final adjudication when their visa numbers become current. Additionally, three family members currently residing abroad were granted relief through the lawsuit, which will help one of the individual plaintiffs reunite her family.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues' paper "SPACs: Insider IPOs" (with M. Stegemoller) was cited by the Delaware Chancery Court's opinion in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation.
Callaway Chair of Law Emeritus Ronald L. Carlson was featured in USA Today regarding sentencing in the Ahmaud Arbery trial. The article titled "In life sentence for men convicted of Ahmaud Arbery's murder, will they get chance at parole?" was written by N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Raisa Habersham and was published 1/7/22.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West was featured in The Washington Post regarding First Amendment press protections. The article titled "The ridiculous hypocrisy of Sean Hannity hiding behind 'freedom of the press'" was written by Margaret Sullivan and published 1/5/22.
Distinguished Research Professor & Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Emeritus Walter Hellerstein's treatise State Taxation was quoted by the Oregon Supreme Court in Ooma, Inc. v. Department of Revenue (Dec. 23, 2021) regarding Oregon’s tax on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers.
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch was featured in The New York Times regarding the latest developments in the opioid litigation. The article titled "Pharmaceutical Company Is Found Liable in Landmark Opioid Trial" was written by Sarah Maslin Nir, Jan Hoffman and Lola Fadulu and was published 12/30/21.
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch was featured on Cleveland.com regarding public nuisance law as it applies to opioid litigation. The article titled "Attorneys for Lake, Trumbull counties will seek to make pharmacies pay for damages brought by opioids" was written by John Caniglia and published 1/3/22.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues was featured on Law360 regarding special purpose acquisition companies. The article titled "3 Hurdles That Could Slow The Pace Of SPACs In 2022" was written by Tom Zanki and published 1/3/22.
Wilner/UGA Foundation Professor in International Law Harlan Grant Cohen presented "The Court-Custom Paradox" a part of the Interpretation of CIL: Methods, Interpretive Choices and the Role of Coherence conference hosted by TRICI-Law ( The Rules of Interpretation of Customary International Law) during December.
Metadata Services & Special Collections Librarian Rachel Evans presented "Totally Tubular 2.0: Exhibiting your Excellence with DCX" as part of an Elsevier BePress academic librarian event during December (with A. Connolly).
Joseph S. Miller, the holder of the Rogers Chair of Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Law, has been elected to the American Law Institute. The ALI is "the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law." The ALI's members work to "influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas," collaborate with other "eminent lawyers, judges and academics," give back to the legal profession and "contribute to the public good."
Associate Professor Laura Phillips Sawyer published "Voting Trusts and Antitrust: Rethinking the Role of Shareholder Litigation in Public Regulation, from the 1880s to the 1930s" in 39 Law and History Review 569 (2021) (with N.R. Lamoreaux).
Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility Nathan S. Chapman was featured in The Augusta Chronicle regarding defamation cases. The article titled "Local radio host Austin Rhodes sued for defamation by Evans resident" was written by Abraham Kenmore and published 12/20/21.
The First Amendment Clinic was featured in the Towns County Herald regarding its Director Clare R. Norins and Legal Fellow Lindsey M. Floyd partnering with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation to lead training on Georgia’s Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act for a broad cross-section of town and county law enforcement and government officials. The article titled "Training focuses on improving public access to government" was written by Shawn Jarrard and published 12/22/21.
Assistant Professor Lindsey Simon was featured on NPR regarding the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy opioid settlement. The segment titled "Judge rejects Purdue Pharma's opioid settlement that would protect Sackler family" was hosted by Steve Inskeep and aired 12/17/21.
Assistant Professor Lindsey Simon was featured in a Reuters article regarding the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy opioid settlement. The article titled "Analysis: Purdue Pharma ruling targets controversial U.S. bankruptcy tactic" was written by Mike Spector and Dan Levine and was published 12/17/21. The article was printed in the Insurance Journal and by other media outlets across the country.