2023

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 Brackeen v. Haaland, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Johan David van der Vyver, legendary human rights scholar, anti-apartheid activist, and I.T. Cohen Professor of International Human Rights at Emory University School of Law, died on May 22, 2023, in Pretoria, South Africa.

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.

EBDJ—and the sense of belonging it created for Iqbal—is a throughline of his law school story. Law school has taught him how much power he has to effect change.

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.