It is with profound sadness that the law school shares that Mr. Chester C. Davenport, the University of Georgia School of Law's first African-American graduate, passed away Friday, August 7. Mr. Davenport was an incredibly important figure in our school's history. He was a leader. He graduated in the top five percent of the Class of 1966 and served as a founding member and Executive Editor of the Georgia Law Review. He was a successful attorney, public servant and businessman. Mr. Davenport was also a regular supporter of the School of Law and the university throughout his life. The UGA chapter of the Black Law Students Association bears his name, and he received the law school alumni association's highest honor -- the Distinguished Service Scroll Award -- in 2016. These are only a few highlights of his life.
The University of Georgia School of Law hosted the first virtual version of the Georgia Association for Legal Externships supervisor attorney training in collaboration with the other Georgia law schools. Approximately 150 attorneys attended the training on Zoom which covered issues important to legal externship supervision in 2020. Topics included: remote supervision, ethical supervision in the time of Covid-19 and exploring anti-racist supervision.
Three members of the School of Law faculty have been appointed to endowed professorships as of Aug. 1: Nathan S. Chapman has been named the Pope F. Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility. Melissa J. "M.J." Durkee was promoted to the rank of full professor and named the holder of the Allen Post Professorship. Joseph S. Miller was awarded a J. Alton Hosch Professorship.
The First Amendment Clinic filed an amicus brief in the matter of ACLU v. Zeh requesting the Georgia Supreme Court to review a matter that can weaken First Amendment protections under Georgia's anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation statute ("anti-SLAPP"). Representing fellow amici curiae the University of Virginia School of Law's First Amendment Clinic and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, the UGA First Amendment Clinic argues that the lower court in Zeh failed to apply the "actual malice" standard in deciding whether a defamation lawsuit survives a motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute.
Congratulations to 2020 alumna Maria Carruthers Ferrero for being selected as a 2021 Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. This one-year fellowship places early career professionals in federal government offices in Washington, D.C. Since 1979, over 1,400 fellows have completed the program, becoming leaders in science, policy and public administration roles. Notably, Carruthers Ferrero is Georgia Sea Grant's first law fellow to earn this fellowship, and she is the only J.D. candidate in the 2021 Knauss fellowship class.