Thanks to a partnership with The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire, third-year law student Allison "Allie" Evans and second-year students Hiance M. Castro Guerrero and Marissa G. Hill have used their skills as registered neutrals to virtually mediate civil cases in the Savannah area. These Mediation Practicum students are approved mediators with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, and each is handling approximately one small claims case per week. Practicum supervisor Rob McNiff said some litigants find that virtual mediations are a more convenient way to resolve their disputes.
The University of Georgia has established the Chester C. Davenport Memorial Endowment Fund to support scholarships and fellowships in the School of Law in memory of the law school's first African American graduate, who passed away in early August. The fund will give priority to incoming students in the School of Law who have graduated from Georgia-based historically Black colleges and universities. Recipients also will be chosen for reflecting Davenport's legacy of academic excellence, courage, determination and a trailblazing spirit.
Within the past week, the University of Georgia and the School of Law have joined forces to memorialize the law school's first Black graduate - Chester C. Davenport (LL.B.'66) - and a prominent Georgia jurist - Horace J. Johnson Jr. (J.D.'82). The Chester C. Davenport Memorial Endowment Fund will support scholarships and fellowships prioritizing incoming students who graduated from Georgia-based historically Black colleges and universities and who reflect Davenport's legacy of academic excellence, courage, determination and trailblazing spirit. The Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Lecture on Race, Law and Policy will feature thought leaders at the intersection of race, law and policy - all areas that Judge Johnson deeply understood and on which he made a significant impact throughout his life.
Keeping families and their pets together during and after difficult times - such as the current pandemic - and improving the quality of life of companion animals and, by extension, people are the goals of a recently awarded grant provided by the Stanton Foundation to the University of Georgia School of Law Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills.
With support from the University of Georgia's Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community, the School of Law and School of Public and International Affairs have established the Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Lecture on Race, Law and Policy in honor of the late jurist, who was a trailblazer for the Black community in Georgia. UGA's Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community was created to develop initiatives and actions to foster a more welcoming and supportive learning environment on campus. This lecture is one of the first initiatives approved for funding by UGA President Jere W. Morehead, who has committed $1 million to fund recommendations from the task force.