Releases Archive

Twelve Emory Law students have been designated as Kessler-Eidson Scholars for their excellence demonstrating trial advocacy skills this past May.

The new school year is in full swing and things are hopping! Our revamped Orientation hit a responsive chord with the lLs, who are settling in very well.

Longtime professor at Emory School of Law champions fundamentals as building blocks for successful careers in law.

While many American citizens were horrified to see Afghan men and women clinging to airplanes to try to escape Kabul in 2021, few knew how to help. But Jacob DeFazio 21C 24L’s work to help Afghan interpreters who risked their lives working with US military during America’s longest war has been recognized with a national public service award.

In response to the prosecution by Special Counsel Jack Smith on federal charges arising out of the 2020 election and the events of January 6, 2021, President Trump claimed that as president he was entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. After losing in the district court and court of appeals, he appealed to the Supreme Court.

The court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises has enormous implications for environmental law and prospective climate action. While agencies and courts are digesting the ruling, there are four initial takeaways for environmental law.

In June 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided Moore v. United States. The Petitioners in Moore challenged of the Mandatory Repatriation Tax (“MRT”), a provision of the international-tax regime of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”).

This spring, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization adopted its first new international treaty in over a decade—the first to connect intellectual property with the genetic resources and traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples.

Six Emory Law students will spend this summer getting hands-on experience working in public interest jobs because they received fellowships through the John Paul Stevens Foundation.

Two recent Emory Law graduates are semifinalists in an international competition where the ultimate prize is $1 million in investment funding. Bene Owanga 24L and Chinelo Adi 24L are among the 16 semifinalist teams that will travel to the United Kingdom in August to compete for the 15th Annual Hult Prize.

Emory University School of Law will open a new IP and Innovation Clinic in August.

Emory University School of Law and the Center for the Study of Law and Religion have announced the establishment of the Johan van der Vyver Professorship in Law and Religion. 

I am honored to start my service as Dean of Emory Law today.

At the June 20, 2024, Southeastern Legal Awards Ceremony hosted by the Daily Report, two of three attorneys honored for lifetime achievement were Emory Law alumni.

The Emory University Board of Trustees recently recognized several faculty members for their accomplishments as scholars, teachers, and contributors of service to Emory and the broader community.

In 1989, Ian Levin 92L arrived at Emory Law as a 1L from New York. The world was shifting under waves of unrest and protest as the Berlin Wall fell and students defied tanks in Tiananmen Square.

When Alex Subbard at last lost his fight with Parkinson’s, his two children mourned. But when a heretofore unknown handwritten will surfaced, their grief turned to rage.

On Sunday, May 12, Emory University School of Law graduated more than 300 students during ceremonies held at the Gas South Convention Center in Duluth.

After finishing college in three years—and with two bachelor’s degrees— Nikki Hurtado 24L applied to Emory Law as an Early Decision student. She was the consummate overachiever.

Traditionally, most law school graduates go on to be lawyers. But for Morieka Johnson 94C 24L and other recipients of the juris master degree, there is the opportunity to learn from world-class legal scholars and take that knowledge into a number of careers that require one to look at situations through a legal framework. 

Good lawyers have to be great storytellers—which is impossible without a command of language. So, when a lack of fluency in English was standing between Pamela Bispo da Silva 23L and her dreams, she left the small town of Rio Claro, Brazil, and accepted an au pair job in Pennsylvania.

John Witte has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS)—the third Emory Law scholar to receive this honor.

Brill Publishers has released a book of essays in honor of John Witte, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law, McDonald Distinguished Professor of Religion, and faculty director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.

Richard D. Freer, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, presented this year’s John F. Morgan Sr. Distinguished Faculty Lecture: “The State of American Civil Justice: A Story of Exodus and Transformation” was the focus of the lecture.

Emory Law’s Volunteer Clinic for Veterans has built initiatives to enhance students’ experience and logged a victory which resulted in a life-changing award for a veteran client.

Next month, Emory Law will honor four of its best at the annual Alumni Awards Reception. Three are leaders in the fields of wealth management, personal injury/malpractice, and securities litigation. The fourth is a former US Navy judge advocate who co-founded Emory Law’s Volunteer Clinic for Veterans.

This year the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) honored a veteran public defender, a former investigator turned civil rights attorney, and an Am Law 100 firm partner who has logged hundreds of pro bono hours over nearly 40 years in practice.

The Memorial Service will be held in Tull Auditorium on March 30, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. A reception will follow in Hunter Atrium. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the A. James Elliott Community Service Award at Emory University School of Law.

A. James Elliott 66C 66L, who was both an alumnus and associate dean of Emory Law, passed away on January 14, 2024.

This semester, Emory Law is launching a new stipend program for first- and second-year juris doctor students who accept summer volunteer jobs at legal public sector and public interest organizations.

Assistant Professor Alex Zhang filed an amicus brief in support of the United States in collaboration with ELSSCAP, which is the only student-run Supreme Court litigation program in the United States.

As Veterans Day approaches, Emory Law’s Volunteer Clinic for Veterans (VCV) expects to add new staff to expand its work to get Georgia’s former service personnel the benefits they have earned

Succeeding Dean Mary Anne Bobinski in summer 2024, Freer will bring deep experience as a university and school administrator, expert scholarship and dedication to legal education—as well as an impressive 40-year tenure as a member of the Emory community.

This fall term, 281 Juris Doctor students started their 1L year at Emory Law.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, meet Emory Law alumna Claudia A. Chafloque-Siu 19L. “Because my entire family partnered with me to obtain my American education, I know that I owe them, although it is unstated. It is understood.

In 1983, a first-of-its-kind government study revealed race was the primary factor that determined where hazardous waste winds up in the South—which was predominantly in Black communities.

Emory Law’s Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice and The Carter Center will host “Advancing the Rule of Law in U.S. Elections.” This symposium will launch a partnership between the CCRSJ and the Center that aims to increase support for civil rights and social justice in the legal community.

Provost Ravi Bellamkonda has announced an internal search for a candidate with deep commitment to Emory Law to build on the progress made by Dean Mary Anne Bobinski, who recently shared plans to step down at the end of her term.

Emory Law's Volunteer Clinic for Veterans (VCV) has evolved into a pivotal touchpoint addressing the legal needs of low-income Georgia veterans

Kelly Woodford joins Emory Law as assistant dean of student affairs and a member of the law school’s senior leadership team. 

Emory Law’s Volunteer Clinic for Veterans former Senior Staff Attorney Carlissa Carson 08L has received the Georgia State Bar’s Marshall-Tuttle Award, which honors lawyers who work on behalf of Georgia’s more than 700,000 veterans.

In three consolidated lawsuits, Alabama voters are currently challenging the state’s most recently enacted Congressional map, arguing that it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, a case brought in separate actions by the state of Texas, a biological mother, and non-Native American adoptive and potential adoptive parents challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

The Supreme Court just issued a significant environmental law ruling in Sackett v. EPA, ruling against the EPA’s authority to regulate certain wetlands under the Federal Clean Water Protection Act.  The Court’s holding is a massive disappointment for environmentalists.

The Supreme Court has taken an enthusiastic role in enforcing free speech guarantees. In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the Court made clear that customized website design is “pure speech,” and that free speech protections trump antidiscrimination law, even when the speaker is acting in the marketplace.

This summer, 49 Emory Law rising 2Ls and 3Ls are at work in government offices and nonprofits across the country. Most internships are in Georgia, but organizations from Los Angeles to Miami are also providing students with a firsthand view of what it’s like to practice in the public interest.

The courts have long applied a presumption against the extraterritorial reach of US law. While Congress can use domestic laws to regulate conduct outside of the United States, such regulation is not generally the norm.

Earlier this month, Professor Matthew Sag joined an artist whose work has been seen by millions in Marvel blockbusters when both testified before a Senate subcommittee on how U.S. copyright law should address generative artificial intelligence. Other panelists included executives from music, AI, and creative software industries.

Emory University School of Law joins Atlanta and the nation in mourning the loss of the Honorable Marvin Arrington Sr. 67L.

Ira Bedzow 14G has been selected to lead the Emory Purpose Project, a signature element of the Student Flourishing initiative.

The Center for Transactional Law and Practice celebrated its fifteenth anniversary May 18, 2023, at the Miller-Ward Alumni House.

On July 1, alumnus Andrew R. Klein 88L will join Wake Forest University as dean of the law school, following a national search. While a student at Emory Law, Klein was a Robert W. Woodruff Fellow and editor-in-chief of the Emory Law Journal.

Emory Law Associate Professor Martin Sybblis convened a symposium in April focused on the legacies of colonialism and how countries in the Caribbean and North Atlantic areas are working to grow their economies.

Two of Emory Law’s most recent graduates who designed projects to help citizens with little or no access to legal services have earned fellowships from Equal Justice Works.

Emory University School of Law held its Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremony, celebrating students who earned doctor of juridical science, juris doctor, master of laws, master of comparative law, juris master, and dual degrees. Nearly 300 students attended in person and approximately 15 students participated virtually, viewing the event as it was live streamed through the school’s website.

At 63, Robert Sharp Jr. has been an attorney for nearly 30 years. He’s licensed to practice before the US Supreme Court, as well as three federal courts of appeal.

Olubunmi Bakare’s path to become a leading neonatologist included immigration to the United States and tenacious pursuit of both MD and master of public health degrees from elite medical schools. This spring, Bakare 23L earned a juris master at Emory Law.

When Christina Morrison 23L receives her Emory Law diploma on Sunday with highest honors, Order of the Coif, one achievement will not be listed in the commencement program: a commendation letter from the US Ambassador in charge of investigating war crimes.

Bene Owanga 24L and his family created a climate tech company that rents portable solar-powered batteries to consumers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chinelo Adi 24L joined as the company's business strategist. With help from The Hatchery, they secured funding from Divinc's Accelerator Program to address the energy crisis.

Both the editor-in-chief of the Emory Law Journal and an alumnus from the Class of 1992 have won Burton/Law360 Awards for Distinguished Legal Writing this year.

In late March, Emory welcomed 158 admitted students and their families for Emory Law’s annual admitted student Visiting Day.

Emory Law Associate Professor George S. Georgiev is among a select group of researchers who recently received funding from the Ford Foundation, as part of a far-reaching project on how some of the biggest companies in the United States manage and compensate their employees.

Mary Anne Bobinski will conclude her tenure as dean of Emory Law in the summer of 2024 after completing a five-year term. A national search for her successor will begin in the coming weeks.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity also recommended creating a multilateral benefit-sharing fund for digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, something Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Margo A. Bagley advocates.

Emory Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law program has established a new DEI scholarship and stipend program to promote broader diversity in the practice of environmental law.

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), to give 2023 MLK Day lecture.

Ross Fishman 85L was recognized by the City of Highland Park, Illinois, for bravery and negotiating skills that helped end a 12-hour police standoff that involved an armed neighbor who had threatened to harm himself.

Emory University will host the 2024 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies.

This fall term, 236 new JDs started their 1L year at Emory Law, joined by 13 transfer students, 22 LLMs, 33 students pursuing a juris master degree and three SJDs. As a whole, they represent 19 countries, 33 states and the District of Columbia.

Ifeoma Ajunwa, JD, PhD, will join the Emory University School of Law faculty in the fall of 2023, strengthening the school’s offerings in AI and employment law.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Polly Price, author of Plagues in the Nation: How Epidemics Shaped America, sheds light on how the US has handled major outbreaks throughout history—from smallpox to COVID-19—and how we can use these lessons to prepare for the next one.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Margo Bagley has been actively involved in negotiations for two proposed treaties that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies agreed to send to diplomatic conferences.

Martha Albertson Fineman, Robert W. Woodruff Professor, will take the helm of Emory Law’s Center for International and Comparative Law in the coming academic year.

Professor Nicole Morris has agreed to serve as the inaugural director of the Innovation and Legal Tech Initiative (ILTI).

Dexter A. Smith will join the Emory University School of Law community this fall as assistant dean of admission and financial aid.

Two recent Emory Law graduates have been awarded national public interest fellowships based on proposals for two-year projects they designed to address as yet unmet legal needs.

Four Emory Law Juvenile Defender Clinic students worked on the amicus brief Waldman filed in November 2020 in a case that led to a June 1, 2022, Georgia Supreme Court decision that gives juveniles the right to an insanity defense.

Emory Law’s Kristin N. Johnson, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve a three-year term as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Marissa Cohen 22L already had a JD when she came to Emory Law. So, why invest in a master of laws at Emory? "My first reason ... was the realization that my JD wasn't enough to quench my thirst about the law," she says.

In these new volumes, Witte retrieves the major legal and theological teachings that have shaped these institutions and outlines ways to strengthen, reform, and integrate them anew.

Emory police officer Anthony ReFour 22L earned a juris master degree from Emory University School of Law in May 2022.

More than 240 law students recently gathered in person and virtually at Emory Law’s Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremony, held on Mother’s Day, which featured an address by former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.

In addition to graduating with high honors and joining the Order of the Coif, Tejas Dave 22L will also receive the Keith J. Shapiro Corporate Bankruptcy Writing Award.