University Of Georgia Law School
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The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
of the
University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...
, a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation. ''U.S. News & World Report'' consistently ranks the school among the Top Tier Law Schools in the nation. Georgia Law recent graduates include 11 governors, over 110 state and federal legislators, approximately 70 federal judges, and numerous state supreme court justices, practitioners, government officials, ambassadors, trial court judges, academics and law firm principals. Notable recent alumni of Georgia Law include former acting
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Sally Yates, former
President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the vice president. According to Article One, Section Three of the United ...
Richard B. Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almo ...
, former
Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
and present
Senior Judge Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at least ...
of the
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
Larry Edmondson, and
Ertharin Cousin Ertharin Cousin (born 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the twelfth executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. Following the completion of her term, Cousin became Payne Distinguished Professor at S ...
, named to the ''TIME'' 100 most influential people in the world list and Payne Distinguished Professor at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.


History

The law school was founded in 1859. The founding three professors of the university's new law school included one of the United States' first state supreme court chief justices, Joseph Lumpkin, a
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
alumnus. Joining him was attorney Thomas Cobb, who was the author of first enacted comprehensive codification of common law in the United States. The third original law professor was William Hull, an honors graduate of the University of Georgia, who had been a United States Attorney and a Solicitor General of the United States. Previously, law courses had been offered as part of the undergraduate curriculum of Franklin College of the university. The first classes of the Lumpkin Law School, as it was originally designated, were held at the law offices of Lumpkin and Cobb at the corner of Prince Avenue and Pulaski Street until 1873. By 1880, the curriculum included courses in equity, parliamentary law, and various commercial law studies such as partnership, insurance, tax, and tariffs. Around 1889, stricter admission standards mandated that students be at least 18 years old. Two years later, an entrance exam had been instituted. The modern method of case law instruction was ushered in during the 1920s. In December 1931, the school was granted membership in the
Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...
. After being housed in various buildings over the years, the law school in 1932 moved into the new Hirsch Hall, named in honor of prominent attorney Harold Hirsch, located on historic North Campus at the University of Georgia. Hirsch Hall, expanded by many thousands of square feet over the years in connected buildings and upgrades, remains the site of law school classrooms and offices, as well as the
Alexander Campbell King Law Library The Alexander Campbell King Law Library is the main law library of the University of Georgia School of Law. It is located in Hirsch Hall, one of two law school buildings on the nationally recognized historic North Quadrangle of the University of G ...
and the Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom. A 2012 renovation created almost 4,000 square feet of additional space, including a cafe and enclosed three story courtyard. The law school's four-story, 40,000-square-foot separate addition, Dean Rusk Hall, opened in 1996 near Hirsch Hall. Named for former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who was a Georgia Law professor, this building became the new home of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, founded in 1977. Dean Rusk Hall also houses additional classrooms, faculty offices, and library space, and a second law school courtroom, the James E. Butler Courtroom. In the three years up to 2020, the Law School raised an additional $61 million to add to its endowment for scholarships, teaching, clinics, and experiential offerings.


Academics

More than 300 courses, clinics, and seminars are offered at Georgia Law, including business-related law, property-related law, personal rights and public interest law, trial and appellate practice, as well as global practice preparation. Although academics, theory, and legal reasoning are primary, Georgia Law is also ranked A+ and 16th of all ABA law schools for practical training. Degrees awarded include the
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
(J.D.), the
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
(LL.M.) for foreign-trained lawyers, and th
Master in the Study of Law
(M.S.L.) for those who do not want to practice law, but wish to gain an understanding of legal principles and perspectives in order to advance their careers. Students also may choose to pursue interdisciplinary coursework in other University schools and colleges, or to earn one of many dual degrees including a J.D./M.B.A. or LL.M./M.B.A. The law school is accredited by the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
(ABA), is a member of the
Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...
, has a chapter of the
Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...
, and is host to two advocacy inns: Lumpkin Inn of Court, one of the earliest American inns of court, and E. Wycliffe Orr Sr. American Inn of Court. Both are modeled after the English inns of court. It is also an academic partner of the
American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...
.


Admissions

Admission to the school is highly competitive, Georgia Law accepting 18.48% of applicants for the Class entering in 2021. For the class entering in 2022, the ''average'' LSAT score was 168 and the ''average'' undergraduate GPA was 3.87. Georgia Law's 2021 ''average'' selectivity rating was 95 out of a possible maximum of 99, Georgia Law enrolled students being in the top 4% of law school applicants. Nearly 30% of enrolled students self-identify as belonging to historically underrepresented groups. Although grades, degrees earned, and standardized test scores are important, for each applicant the admissions committee primarily considers a mandatory personal admission essay, a mandatory resume detailing the applicant's education, employment, fellowships, skills, honors, awards, community involvement, volunteer work, and other accomplishments, as well as mandatory letters of recommendation. The 2020 first year students came from 25 states, 14 countries, and 97 undergraduate institutions. Of those students, 71% received merit based scholarships.


Student support and faculty to student ratio

Georgia Law's Mentorship Program matches every law student with a faculty member mentor, an upperclassman peer mentor, a Career Development Office counselor, and an alumnus professional mentor. There are just six students for each faculty member.


Law review and journals

Georgia Law students publish four legal journals: ''Georgia Law Review'', ''Journal of Intellectual Property Law'', ''Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law,'' and ''Georgia Criminal Law Review''. These journals have frequently been cited by federal and state courts, as well as textbooks and law reviews. Membership on the journals is limited to students in their second and third years of law school. In addition to the ''Georgia Law Review,'' students publish the online component, the ''Georgia Law Review Posts,'' which features essays by students, practitioners, judges and professors focused primarily on timely legal issues in the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals.


Alexander Campbell King Law Library

The Alexander Campbell King Law Library is the oldest and largest law library in the state of Georgia. In 1967,
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Justice Hugo Black gave the keynote address at an outdoor ceremony to dedicate a modern law library building adjacent to Hirsch Hall. Housing a collection of more than 500,000 digital and print titles, the law library is a founding member of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance and the Law Library Microform Consortium. It has been designated a
Federal Depository Library The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...
. The library is also one of the United States' Specialized European Documentation Centres, houses the Faculty Writings Collection, the Phillips Nuremberg Trials Collection, the Rare Book Collection, and the J. Alton Hosch Collection, which includes the extensive personal library of Dean Hosch, a member of the law school faculty from 1935 to 1964. The Louis B. Sohn Library on International Relations is housed within the school's Dean Rusk International Law Center. The Sohn library is the extensive international law collection of
Louis B. Sohn Louis Bruno Sohn (1 March 1914 – 7 June 2006) was an Austrian–American legal scholar. Biography Sohn was born in Lemberg, in what was then Austria-Hungary, later Poland and now Ukraine. He earned his first law degree at John Casimir Universi ...
, who was the Woodruff Chair professor at Georgia Law and previously the
Bemis Professor of International Law George Bemis (October 13, 1816 – January 5, 1878) was an American lawyer and legal scholar. He was involved with many unique cases and was an advocate of international law and the reform of the treatment of criminals. Early life and education ...
at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
.


Clinics and related initiatives

For the 2020–21 academic year, more than 450 Georgia Law students enrolled in clinical and field placement programs for approximately 94,000 hours. There are over 100 organizations, experiential learning and practical training offerings, and other additional education opportunities at Georgia Law. Some of the offerings include, without limitation, the
Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
Law Clinic, Civil Law Practice Externships, the Corporate Counsel Externship, the
Environmental Law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...
Practicum, the Washington D.C. Semester in Practice, the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
Clinic, the Atlanta Semester in Practice, Corsair Law Society (transactions and litigation in major financial markets), the
Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Justice Clinic, Labor & Employment Law Association, Public Interest Law Council,
Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
& Other
Property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
Organization, the
Mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
Clinic, the Community Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Clinic, Business Law Society, American
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
Society, the Public Interest Practicum and Fellowships, Health Law Society,
Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
Law Society,
International Law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
Society, the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, Family Law Society, Association of Law and
Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, the
Criminal Defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...
Practicum, the Prosecutorial Justice Program, Environmental Law Association,
Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...
Legal Services Clinic,
Trial Lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
Association, Practicum in
Animal Welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
Skills,
Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
&
Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s Law Society,
Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Fede ...
,
Tax Law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...
Society,
national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
award-winning moot court, mock trial and negotiation programs (for example, in last five years members have been awarded 13 national and ten regional titles), Georgia Law-Leuven Centre
Global Governance Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enfor ...
Summer School in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, Georgia Law at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
program, and the Capital Assistance Project. Students in the Appellate Litigation Clinic have briefed and argued before the
U.S. Courts of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...
for the Fourth,
Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
,
Eleventh In music or music theory, an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh. The interval can be also described as a compound fourth, spanning an octave plus a f ...
, and D.C. Circuits (with students winning five times in four courts in 2020–2021). The Global Externship initiative provides global practice preparation for many students each summer, for instance past practice preparation included, without limitation, placement with law firms like DLA Piper in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Priti Suri & Associates (PSA) in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Siqueira Castro Advogados in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and King & Wood Mallesons in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. To educate students in the benefits of public service and the functioning of the judiciary, up to 20 jurists, including
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
justices,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s, and trial judges, visit Georgia Law to teach classes.


Costs

The total of tuition and fees for one year at Georgia Law is $11,092 for Georgia residents and $20,471 for non-residents. The total cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees and off-campus living expenses) for the 2020–21 academic year is estimated to be $30,424 for Georgia residents and $39,803 for non-residents. Non-resident students are able to obtain Georgia residency at the beginning of their second year of law school, and available are tuition reduction scholarships that allow non-residents to pay resident tuition for one or two semesters of the first year of Georgia Law. Further, over 70% of the members of the Class of 2021 received merit based scholarships funded by donors. ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Georgia Law as a top ten law school in having the 4th best salary to debt ratio, while Georgia Law has been ranked #1 as the best value in legal education in the United States by ''the National Jurist'' for the last three straight years.


Employment

Living Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Those who graduated in 2021 are working in 26 states and abroad. According to ABA required disclosures, ''not including'' those choosing to open their own practices, to pursue additional education, etc., 97% of the 2021 graduating class were hired to perform high-value jobs within nine months after graduation, and 92.57% held full-time, long-term, JD-required positions at that point (Georgia Law being the nation's #1 law school for high-value jobs out of 199 ABA-approved schools). For the class graduating in 2021, Georgia Law was ranked 5th of all ABA approved law schools for the highest percentage of graduates obtaining full-time legal jobs requiring bar passage. Georgia Law was among the top law schools that sent the highest percentage of juris doctor graduates into associate positions at the largest 100 law firms in the country. Of 202 students who graduated in 2021 - ''not including'' those who opened their own practices, pursued additional education, etc. - 57 went to law firms with up to 50 attorneys, 54 to law firms with 51 to over 500 attorneys including 25 to law firms of over 500 attorneys, 5 to business organizations, 38 to government and public interest organizations (not including judicial clerkships that 38 graduates obtained) and six to academia. Serving as a
judicial clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significan ...
is considered one of the most prestigious positions in legal circles, and often opens up wide-ranging opportunities in private practice, high-ranking government work, and academia. Georgia Law has had six alumni serve as judicial clerks for justices of the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
since 2005. Based on the 2005-2021 graduating classes, the School of Law was ranked 14th among the nation's law schools for sending its graduates to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court. For the class of 2021, Georgia Law placed 38 graduates in federal and state court clerkships (for 2020 Georgia Law had a top eight placement rate of all ABA approved law schools in the nation for federal court clerkships).


Rankings

For the 2022 ''Top 50 Law School Rankings,'' of the 199 ABA-approved law schools, Georgia Law was ranked #13. However, according to the study by
Law School Transparency Law School Transparency (LST) is a nonprofit consumer advocacy and education organization concerning the legal profession in the United States. LST was founded by Vanderbilt Law School graduates Kyle McEntee and Patrick Lynch. LST describes its m ...
, Georgia Law ranked in the top ten nationally for employment outcomes, while ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' recognized Georgia law as being in the top five law schools offering the best salary-to-debt ratios in the nation. Furthermore, the law school has been ranked #13 of the top best law schools by ''the National Jurist'' as well as by Above the Law. ''U.S. News & World Report's'' 2023 ranking of #29 places Georgia Law in the top tier of all 199 ABA-approved law schools and in the top 13% of those schools, with the school additionally individually ranked in Trial Advocacy, Business/Corporate Law, Clinical Training, Constitutional Law, Contracts/Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Healthcare Law, Legal Writing, and Tax Law. Finally, based on outcome-driven factors such as average indebtedness, bar passage, and employment, Georgia Law has been ranked #1 as the best value in legal education in the United States by ''the National Jurist'' for the last three straight years.


Notable recent alumni

Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Among recent Georgia Law graduates are 11 governors, more than 110 state and federal legislators, approximately 70 federal appeals and district court judges, multiple state trial and appeals court judges, numerous state supreme court justices, government officials, ambassadors, law firm principals, as well as other notable practitioners, leaders, authors, and academics. Some recent graduates include the following. *
Luis A. Aguilar Luis Alberto Aguilar (born November 21, 1953) is an American lawyer and former U.S. government official. He was the Democratic commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from July 31, 2008, until December 2015 (after ...
(J.D. 1979), attorney, former
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
,
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
*
M. Neil Andrews Maurice Neil Andrews (December 24, 1894 – August 31, 1967) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Education and career Born in LaFayette, Georgia, Andrews received a Bach ...
(LL.B. 1956), former special assistant to the
Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, Chief of the Trial Section of the
United States Department of Justice Criminal Division United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
,
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
,
Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Ellis Arnall Ellis Gibbs Arnall (March 20, 1907December 13, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 69th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947. A liberal Democrat, he helped lead efforts to abolish the poll tax and to reduce Georgia's voting age ...
(LL.B. 1931), attorney, Am Law 200 law firm founder, former
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
* R. Stan Baker (J.D. 2004), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...
(J.D. 1972), former
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, attorney, law firm founder * Timothy Batten (J.D. 1984), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Robert Benham (J.D. 1970), Chief Justice state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, first African-American to serve as
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
of the Supreme Court of Georgia * Charlie Bethel (J.D. 2001), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
*
Keith R. Blackwell Keith Robert Blackwell (born July 4, 1975) is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Education Blackwell received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Georgia in 1996 and his Juris Doctor from t ...
(J.D. 1999), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
* J. P. Boulee (J.D. 1996), former partner
Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm. As of 2021, it was the eighth largest law firm in the U.S. and the 13th highest grossing law firm in the world. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones Day ranks first in both M&A le ...
, Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. (born June 25, 1941) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Education and career Bowen was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of the own ...
(LL.B. 1965), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Mike Bowers Michael Joseph Bowers (born October 7, 1941) was the Attorney General of Georgia from 1981 to 1997 before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor. Bowers was a Democrat through 1994, at which time he joined the Republican Party. B ...
(J.D. 1974), state
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
*
Michael Lawrence Brown Michael Lawrence Brown (born October 10, 1968) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Biography He received his Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, and his Juris D ...
(J.D. 1994), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
George Busbee George Dekle Busbee Sr. (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004), was an American politician who served as the 77th Governor of the State of Georgia from 1975 to 1983, and a senior partner at King & Spalding thereafter. Early life Born in Vienna, Geor ...
(J.D. 1952), senior partner at King & Spalding international law firm, former
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
*
Valerie E. Caproni Valerie Elaine Caproni (born August 13, 1955) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Caproni grew up in Columbus, Georgia, and attended Hardaway High ...
(J.D. 1979), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
for the Southern District of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
; formerly,
General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
,
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
*
Julie E. Carnes Julie Elizabeth Carnes (born October 31, 1950) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Early life and education Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Carnes is the daughter of Georgia state ...
(J.D. 1975), Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
*
Christopher M. Carr Christopher Michael Carr (born February 8, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he is the current Attorney General of Georgia. In 2016, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Carr as Attorney General to fill a vacancy created by the d ...
(J.D. 1999), state
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
* John William Carter (J.D. 1975), investment consultant and state
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
* Jason Carter (J.D. 2004), partner Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, represents the
National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...
, awarded the
Stuart Eizenstat Stuart Elliott Eizenstat (born January 15, 1943) is an American diplomat and attorney. He served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 1993 to 1996 and as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 ...
Lawyer Award, given by the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, for his
pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
work defending voting rights, state
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
*
Thomas Alonzo Clark Thomas Alonzo Clark (December 20, 1920 – September 4, 2005) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Education and caree ...
(LL.B. 1949), Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
* Verda Colvin (J.D. 1993), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
*
Christian A. Coomer Christian Aaron Coomer (born October 31, 1974) is an American lawyer who served as a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2018 to 2023. In August 2023, Coomer was removed from office by the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia Su ...
(J.D. 1999), Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
*
Ertharin Cousin Ertharin Cousin (born 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the twelfth executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. Following the completion of her term, Cousin became Payne Distinguished Professor at S ...
(J.D. 1982), named to the ''TIME'' 100 most influential people in the world list, Payne Distinguished Professor at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies * George W. Darden III (J.D. 1967), former
Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
; presidential appointee to the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Advisor on behalf of the
National Democratic Institute The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-profit American NGO that works with partners in developing countries to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions. The NDI's ...
for International Affairs; partner, international law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge (now,
Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...
) *
Bertis Downs IV Bertis Edwin Downs IV (born July 13, 1956) is an American entertainment lawyer. He originally provided legal counsel (particularly for initial contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, ...
(J.D. 1981),
entertainment attorney Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...
*
Berry Avant Edenfield Berry Avant Edenfield (August 2, 1934 – May 9, 2015) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Early years and education Born in Bulloch County, Georgia, Edenfield received a Ba ...
(LL.B. 1958), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Newell Edenfield (LL.B. 1938),
Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
James Larry Edmondson James Larry Edmondson (born July 14, 1947) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Education and early career Born in Jasper, Georgia, Edmondson received a Bachelor of Arts degree ...
(J.D. 1971), former Chief Judge, now
Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
*
John J. Ellington John J. Ellington (born October 26, 1960) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and former judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Early life and education Ellington was born in Vidalia, Georgia on October 1, 1960. He gradua ...
(J.D. 1985), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
*
Randy Evans James Randolph Evans (born September 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2018 to 2021. He presented his credentials on June 19, 2018 to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. A member ...
(J.D. 1983), attorney, partner
Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with 42 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C. based Patton Boggs. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in the ...
, former
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
, member
Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...
international law firm U.S. board of directors,
general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
to
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article One ...
* Stacey Evans (J.D. 2003), attorney and
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
* Duross Fitzpatrick (LL.B. 1966), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Norman S. Fletcher Norman S. Fletcher (born July 10, 1934) is an American lawyer and jurist from the state of Georgia. He served on the Supreme Court of Georgia for over 15 years and was the Chief Justice of that body from 2001 through 2005. Early life and educat ...
(J.D. 1958), Chief Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
* Daisy Hurst Floyd (J.D.1980), attorney, law
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
, and
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
Dean * Joan T.A. Gabel (J.D. 1993), American academic and first female
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
* Elizabeth Gobeil (J.D. 1995), Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
*
Stephen S. Goss Stephen S. Goss (November 16, 1961 – August 24, 2019) was an American jurist who served as judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Education Goss received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia and his Juris Doctor The Juris ...
(J.D. 1986), Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
* James Randal Hall (J.D. 1982), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Frank Hanna III Frank J. Hanna III is an American entrepreneur, merchant banker and philanthropist. He was one of three entrepreneurs profiled in the Acton Institute and PBS documentary film '' The Call of the Entrepreneur''. Hanna has been described as "one ...
(J.D. 1986), former corporate attorney, now entrepreneur, merchant banker,
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
, and
Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...
* Kenneth B. Hodges, III (J.D. 1991), Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
*
Pierre Howard Pierre DuVinage Howard, Jr. (born February 3, 1943) is an American politician. He served as the ninth Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia. Background Howard was born into a political family, the son of Pierre DuVinage Howard (1912 ...
(J.D. 1974), attorney,
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
,
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
* C. Donald Johnson Jr. (J.D. 1973), attorney, academic, former
Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
; former
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
at the
Office of the United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Trade policy of the United States, American trade ...
; partner,
Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with 42 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C. based Patton Boggs. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in the ...
*
Francys Johnson Francys Johnson is an American civil rights attorney, pastor and educator. He is in private practice as an attorney in Statesboro, Georgia. He has lectured on constitutional and criminal law, civil rights and race and politics at Savannah State ...
(J.D. 2006),
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
attorney and academic *
Steve C. Jones Steve CarMichael Jones (born January 26, 1957) is a U.S. federal judge for the Northern District of Georgia and a former Georgia Superior Court judge. Early life and education Jones was born and raised in Athens, Georgia and graduated from Ceda ...
(J.D. 1987), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Dar'shun N. Kendrick (J.D. 2007), attorney, member state House of Representatives * Clay D. Land (J.D. 1985), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Edward H. Lindsey Jr. (J.D. 1984), attorney, law firm founder, partner in
Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...
international law firm * Beverly B. Martin (J.D. 1981), Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
* Leigh Martin May (J.D. 1998), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Christopher J. McFadden (J.D. 1985), Presiding Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
*
Carla Wong McMillian Carla Wong McMillian (born May 27, 1973) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and former judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Education and legal career McMillian attended Westminster Schools of Augusta, graduating the top ...
(J.D. 1998), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
*
Peter Meldrim Peter Wiltberger Meldrim (4 December 1848 − 13 December 1933) was an attorney, politician, judge and an army officer from Georgia, United States. Early in his career, he worked to expand African Americans' access to education as chairman of the G ...
(LL.B. 1969), Judge,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
,
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
of the
Uniform Law Commission The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of Co ...
* Harold D. Melton (J.D. 1991), former Chief Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, partner
Troutman Pepper Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, known as Troutman Pepper, is an American law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys located in 23 U.S. cities. In terms of revenue it placed 47th on The American Lawyer's 2022 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law fir ...
* Patrick N. Millsaps (J.D. 2000), attorney and American
film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
* Tamika Montgomery–Reeves (J.D. 2006), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, former
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, Delaware Court of Chancery, former attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati *
William Theodore Moore Jr. William Theodore Moore Jr. (born May 7, 1940) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Early life, education and career Born in Bainbridge, Georgia, Moore received an A ...
(J. D. 1964), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Jere Morehead Jere Wade Morehead (born November 25, 1956) is the 22nd and current President of the University of Georgia. He continues as the Josiah Meigs Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, and was previously Se ...
(J.D. 1980),
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of a top 15 Public National University *
Lewis Render Morgan Lewis Render Morgan (July 14, 1913 – November 15, 2001) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and previously was a United ...
(J. D. 1935), Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
* Thomas B. Murphy (J.D. 1949), attorney,
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...
, state House of Representatives from 1973 to 2002. * Harold Lloyd Murphy (J. D. 1949), Judge, U. S. District CourtFederal Judicial Center, http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=1723&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na * Wilbur Dawson Owens Jr. (J.D. 1952), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Charles A. Pannell Jr. Charles Adam Pannell Jr. (born January 24, 1946) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Education and career Pannell was born in DeKalb County, Georgia. He received an A ...
(J.D. 1970),
Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* William Porter Payne (J.D. 1973), former Managing Director of Gleacher & Company, former Vice Chairman of
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
and other companies, president and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the Committee for the Olympic Games responsible for bringing the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
to the United States *
David Ralston David Ralston (March 14, 1954 – November 16, 2022) was an American attorney and a Republican politician who was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2003 until his death. From 2010 onwards, he was also its 73rd speaker of the ...
(J.D. 1980), attorney, former member of state
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
,
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...
, state House of Representatives *
William McCrary Ray II William McCrary "Billy" Ray II (born May 3, 1963) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was previously a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Biography Ray was born ...
(J.D. 1990), Judge, U. S. District Court *
Brian M. Rickman Brian Matthew Rickman (born February 17, 1977) is an American lawyer and judge from Georgia. He served as the chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2021 to 2023. Education Rickman was born in Madison County, Georgia. He earned his B ...
(J.D. 2001), Judge, state
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
*
Jack L. Rives Jack L. Rives (born 1952) is a former American military officer and executive director and chief operating officer of the American Bar Association. Rives is a former TJAG ("The Judge Advocate General") of the United States Air Force Judge Advoca ...
(J.D. 1977), Executive Director and
Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
,
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
* C. Ashley Royal (J.D. 1974), Judge, U. S. District Court *
Richard B. Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almo ...
(LL.B. 1938),
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
, former President Pro Tempore of the Senate *
Carl Sanders Carl Edward Sanders Sr. (May 15, 1925 – November 16, 2014) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 74th Governor of the state of Georgia from 1963 to 1967. Early life and education Carl Sanders was born on May 15, 1925 in ...
(J. D. 1947), former
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, founder and chairman of the multiple city national law firm of
Troutman Sanders Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, known as Troutman Pepper, is an American law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys located in 23 U.S. cities. In terms of revenue it placed 47th on The American Lawyer's 2022 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law fi ...
* Frank W. "Sonny" Seiler (J.D. 1957), trial attorney, leading role in the longest-standing
New York Times Best-Seller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
, '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' * Tilman E. Self (J.D. 1997), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* Marvin Herman Shoob (J.D. 1948),
Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Samuel Hale Sibley Samuel Hale Sibley (July 2, 1873 – October 13, 1958) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Nort ...
(LL.B. 1933), Judge,
U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fro ...
* Sidney Oslin Smith Jr. (J.D. 1949), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
George T. Smith George Thornewell Smith (October 15, 1916 – August 23, 2010) was an American Democratic Party politician and jurist from the state of Georgia. The sixth Lieutenant Governor, state legislator, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, was ...
(J. D. 1948), Justice, state
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
,
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...
*
Richard W. Story Richard W. Story (born March 3, 1953) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Education and career Story was born in Augusta, Georgia. He received a Bachelor of Arts d ...
(J.D. 1978), Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Herman E. Talmadge Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 – March 21, 2002) was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. Talmadge, a Democrat, served during a tim ...
(J.D. 1936),
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
,
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
* Edward J. Tarver (1991), former state
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, attorney,
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
*
Robert L. Vining Jr. Robert Luke Vining Jr. (March 30, 1931 – September 1, 2022) was an American lawyer who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia from 1979 to 2022. Education and career Bo ...
(J.D. 1959), Chief Judge, then
Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
*
Joe D. Whitley Joe Dally Whitley (born November 12, 1950) is an American lawyer from Georgia who was the first General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security. He works in private practice at Baker Donelson and has been named a ''Super Lawye ...
(J.D. 1975), youngest appointed
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
, then
United States Associate Attorney General The associate attorney general of the United States is the third-highest-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in policies rela ...
, first
General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
for the
United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
, Adjunct Professor at the
George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...
, former partner at
Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide ...
international law firm, present partner at
Baker Donelson Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C. is a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group with offices in the Southeastern United States and Washington, D.C. '' Fortune'' has selected Baker Donelson as one of the 100 Best Companies to Wor ...
* Robert Whitlow (J.D. 1979),
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
attorney, best-selling
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and filmmaker *
Lisa Godbey Wood Lisa Godbey Wood (born January 28, 1963) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Education and career Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington, Kentu ...
(J.D. 1990), Chief Judge,
U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
* William Robert Woodall III (J.D. 1997), member,
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
* Sally Quillian Yates (J.D. 1986), partner, international law firm King & Spalding, former faculty Georgetown University Law Center, former
United States Deputy Attorney General The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as United States Attorney Gener ...
and acting
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Law schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Colleges and schools of the University of Georgia