Congratulations to second-year students Sara T. Helton and Haichen Zhao who were selected for 2026 Milner S. Ball Fellowships, a public interest fellowship that was established in memory of the former Caldwell Chair and Class of 1971 School of Law alumnus. The fellowship is awarded to students who embody Milner’s belief in the “necessity of community willing to do the hard work” and who display “a commitment to use the law to help those less fortunate.”
The School of Law regrets to share the news of the passing of Thomas J. Schoenbaum on June 8, 2026, at the age of 86. He taught at the University of Georgia School of Law for approximately 20 years. The holder of the Dean and Virginia Rusk Professorship of International Law, Schoenbaum served as executive director of the Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law and the UGA Institute for European Studies in addition to being a professor of political science.
Congratulations to second-year students Mya O’Berry and McKay L. Powers, and first-year student Helen G. “Hellie” Badaruddin, who were selected for 2026 Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships. The John Paul Stevens Foundation partners with 38 law schools across the nation to enable law students to work in unpaid governmental agency or nonprofit organization law positions during the summer.
Summer public interest fellowships provide important hands-on learning opportunities for law students. At UGA Law, grants for those seeking legal work in nonprofits, federal and state government, legal services and policy/impact organizations as well as judicial clerkships are a priority. Over the past five years, the school has awarded more than $1.6 million to students in these unpaid positions, thanks to contributions provided by alumni and friends.
Congratulations to the School of Law’s 2025-26 faculty and staff award winners - Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Associate Dean for Faculty Development & Cleveland Distinguished Chair Nathan S. Chapman, Associate Professor Matthew I. Hall, Clinical Associate Professor & Washington, D.C., Semester in Practice Director Jessica L. Heywood, Senior Lecturer & Director of Bar Passage Jean Goetz Mangan, Talmadge Chair Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, Hosch Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies Logan E. Sawyer III, Georgia Athletic Association Professor David E. Shipley and Academic Program Coordinator Nikko Terry.