Congratulations to the team of third-year students Gabriel "Gabe" Gonzales-Acevedo and Amanda Payne and second-year student Chelsea R. Feagle, who finished as regional finalists at the regional round of the National Trial Competition. Additionally a second UGA School of Law team comprised of third-year students Jennifer Cotton and Philip Poole and second-year student Andrew H. Tyner finished the competition as regional semi-finalists. The team was coached by third-year student Jared Koebble and alumnus Jeremy Daily (J.D.'14).

The University of Georgia School of Law announces the Butler Commitment, a new initiative that will guarantee financial aid to 100 percent of veterans who matriculate in the fall 2019 entering class. "Thanks to the generous support to date, the School of Law has reached the point where every veteran currently enrolled in the entering class will receive financial aid," School of Law Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge said. "What better way to honor military women and men for their service than to provide them monetary support for their education. I am grateful to renowned trial attorney and 1977 law school alumnus Jim Butler for supporting this initiative."

The University of Georgia School of Law will hold a conference titled "MDL Turns 50: A Look Back and the Way Forward" on Feb. 7 in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall, located on UGA's North Campus. The event is open to the public. Topics covered during three panel discussions will include the rights of individual plaintiffs versus the interests of the group, individual plaintiff's interests against those of their attorney, and the role of the judge in overseeing these lawsuits. Legal scholars as well as practitioners will serve as panelists, including U.S. District Court Chief Judge for the Middle District of Georgia Clay D. Land and U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Alabama R. David Proctor. Notably, Proctor also serves on the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Additionally, former Georgia Gov. Roy E. Barnes will serve as a panel moderator.

CURRENTLY ALL UNIVERSITY OPERATIONS ARE NORMAL

At this time, we are planning for normal operations at the Athens Campus of UGA on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Clarke County is not listed among the 35 affected counties, and we are not expecting any weather-related problems during the day on Tuesday. However, we are continuing to monitor weather forecasts. Check emergency.uga.edu for updates.

Congratulations to the team of third-year student Samuel Baker and second-year student William C. Phillips for finishing as first runner-up in Tulane Law School's Professional Football Negotiation Competition. The pair competed in six rounds of negotiations in the School of Law's first appearance in the competition.