Students

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

A day before his death from pancreatic cancer, a father handwrites a new will that blocks all his children from inheriting a sizable estate. The new beneficiary? Dad’s longtime caretaker. His children are outraged. Attorneys on each side arm themselves for a bruising trial. For the past week, hundreds of Emory Law students have lived this fictional controversy via the Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques (KEPTT), a required course for all 2Ls.

Emory Moot Court Society concluded its annual Stange Competition with the Stange Awards Dinner, marking the Society’s first official return to in-person events since 2019.

Employment/HR and data, privacy, technology added to health care and business law offerings.

KMCL-gift to Emory Law will increase diversity among environmental lawyers

90.9% of Emory Law’s first-time test takers have passed the Georgia July Bar Exam.

Emory Law students will be a critical part of commercializing NNSA lab technology

I am writing today to provide an important update about the law school’s efforts to promote an inclusive learning environment.

Congratulations to 2021 John Paul Stevens Fellows Mary Katherine "MK" Karcher 23L, Naomi-Beth McCall 23L, Teddy Randel 22L, and Megan Toomer 23L who received grants to work at public interest organizations across the country.

In a welcome return to in-person celebrations, Emory University School of Law graduates either donned masks to cross a socially distanced stage or watched the ceremony live from their devices and home computers as more than 360 students earned master of laws, juris master, doctor of juridical science, or juris doctor degrees.

Suman Malempati left his career as a pediatric oncologist, researcher and associate professor of pediatrics to train as a social justice lawyer because he could “no longer be an observer.”

Vanya Starr did not set out to be a human resources specialist, and quickly learned that her favorite seminars all dealt with employment law. When she started considering pursuing a degree in HR, she naturally leaned toward a degree steeped in the law and decided to attend Emory Law's JM program, where she could take classes specialized in employment law.

Congratulations to the teams competing in the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition and The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Kirsten Schaetzel is the English Language Specialist at Emory University School of Law. She helps multilingual and international students navigate American culture and the English language while they learn about US law.

As a Robert W. Woodruff fellow, Daniel is pursuing his juris doctor from Emory University School of Law at 30 years old.

In just nine months, an effort spearheaded by the Black Law Students Association Advisory Board has created an endowment that will allow more Black students to choose Emory Law.

The virtual version of this year's Emory University School of Law graduation ceremonies occurred May 11, following the university's online Commencement program. The event honored the law school’s more than 360 graduates in programs including master of laws, Juris Master, and Juris Doctor.

Frederick Johnson, Captain, United States Air Force—or Eric Johnson 20L, as his Emory family knows him—will walk out of Emory Law with his juris doctor with high honors and march into a unique career as a judge advocate.

One of the law school’s signature events, the Emory Public Interest Committee’s (EPIC) Inspiration Awards,

Dean Mary Anne Bobinski invites us to reflect on how our actions, reactions, or inaction square with MLK's ideals. How would Dr. King define justice?

Kumar Rajamannar, JM Class of 2019, discusses why he chose to pursue a juris master at Emory Law.

On Mother's Day, in a new venue and among a packed house of family and friends, 454 students crossed the stage in recognition of their graduation from Emory University School of Law.

Earl Porter III 19L parlays difficult beginnings into a celebrated end as he prepares to graduate from Emory Law.

Tyler Quinn Yeargain, a third-year student at Emory University School of Law, was among the ten winners for his piece, "Discretion Versus Supersession: Calibrating the Power Balance Between Local Prosecutors and State Officials."

Interim Dean James B. Hughes, Jr.'s message of diversity and service at Emory University Schoo of Law on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Two students spend the summer studying international law in the Netherlands for their Bederman Fellowship.

The Emory Law Houses program helps advise students both on the traditional requirements for the law degree and on the skills required to finish the marathon of earning the law degree.

It was a lonely first few days for Seruwaia Nayacalevu-Masi 18L when she started her studies at Emory University School of Law. Now, Nayacalevu-Masi can claim friends from China, South Korea, Brazil, Russia, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Jamaica, India, England, Vietnam, Liberia, Germany, Venezuela, and the United States of America.

Rachel Stone 18L recently received her Juris Master degree from Emory University School of Law. In a Q & A, she shared what led her to the school, how she plans to use her degree, and how she managed the rigor of law school and a full-time career.

Victoria Sparks, president of the Emory Black Law Students Association, says the most important lesson she learned at Emory is "don't run from the excellence others see in you."

Nicole Schladt 18L has been awarded the Brittain Award, Emory's highest student honor for her leadership and commitment to community service, including co-founding Emory LGBTQ Legal Services

Sydney Kaplan 19L has been elected president of the university-wide Graduate Student Government Association.

Kiyong Song 19L talks about joining the Emory Law community and his military background as he prepares for his role as EILR's editor-in-chief for the 2018-2019 school year.

Fiona O'Carroll 18L has been named a 2018 Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Burton Award winner, an honor given to only 15 people for articles submitted by the nation's top law schools.

In a conversation with Emory constitutional law scholar Fred Smith Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, reflected on her personal experiences and how the crux of law is "about helping people."

The Emory Public Interest Committee has announced the recipients of the 22nd EPIC Inspiration Awards. EPIC annually honors a student and three community members for their outstanding contributions to public service.

Interim Dean James B. Hughes, Jr.'s message of diversity and service at Emory University Schoo of Law on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

WABE kicked off a series of conversations on veterans with a feature on Emory Law's Volunteer Clinic for Veterans, which provides pro bono services to veterans and their families to obtain disability benefits. Drew Early, the clinic's co-director and Keely Youngblood, an attorney at the clinic and an Americorps Legal Fellow, were interviewed, along with Russell Hyatt, whose father, a Korean War vet, is a client of the clinic.

Each year, Emory Law's Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy hosts a professional development program, the Bass Career Summit, for all new students.

A message to the students of Emory Law from Interim Dean Judson Graves.

This month, Emory Law welcomes to Atlanta students from the City University of Hong Kong and members of the Chinese Judiciary as part of a partnership with the Supreme People's Court.

Turner Environmental Law Clinic students traveled to Florida this month for a hearing on Florida Power & Light's plans to build two more nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point site. The controversy has been running for seven years, but could be decided by year's end, said Clinic Director Mindy Goldstein.

426 Emory Law graduates received their diplomas during ceremonies held today on the lawn of Gambrell Hall.

Emory's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) has, for the second consecutive year, won National Large Chapter of the Year at the 49th Annual Convention in Houston Texas.

Immigration Court judges in Atlanta are failing to uphold ethical standards that ensure immigrants receive fair and impartial treatment, according to a seven-week study by Emory Law students and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which was recently featured on the Immigration Prof Blog. "These observations confirm the Atlanta Immigration Court's reputation as a system where judges fail to respect the rule of law," said Adjunct Professor Hallie Ludsin of Emory Law School, who led the law students in their court monitoring.

Emory Law advances to National Moot Court Competition

Victoria "Lavender" Veran Bartlett, a second-year Emory Law student, won first prize in the Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition.

Describing meaningful internships is key when applying to law school, says Emory Law Senior Assistant Dean for Admission Ethan Rosenzweig. But the experience should determine placement. "If the internship is a central focus of student's application or reasons to pursue a career in law, then I'd recommend that the experience should be woven into the personal statement," he tells U.S. News and World Report. Also, don't be afraid to include ones that weren't great, he adds. Sometimes the strongest applications describe what the applicant didn't enjoy and how that helped refocus their goals.

Emory International Law Review, the Immigration Law Practice Society, and Emory OUTLaw hosted a conference to address the persecution and protection of LGBTI immigrants.

Emory's mock trial team placed third in the National Ethics Trial Competition (NETC) in Sacramento, CA, March 16-20. The competition featured a case involving charges of legal malpractice.

Emory was awarded the top title of regional finalist in the New England regional competition and the second-place title of regional semi-finalist in the Southwestern regional competition.

"One of the most effective ways to advocate for people is through the law," explains Nicole Schladt, who researched United Nations policies on sexual orientation and gender identity for her master's degree before coming to Emory Law. She now serves as the graduate assistant for Emory's Office of LGBT Life.

Emory Law's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) chapter received highest honors this past weekend when they were named National BLSA Large Chapter of the Year at the NBLSA 48th Annual National Convention.  

The Emory Law team bested University of Virginia in the final round to win the 11th annual National NYU Immigration Law Competition.

Paola Arzu Stange 01C 05L and her husband, Kirk C. Stange, have established the Stange Law Firm Scholarship to honor top competitors in Emory Law's moot court program.

One of Emory Moot Court Society's nationals teams competed in the prestigious New York City Bar Association's National Moot Court Competition

One of Emory Moot Court Society's nationals teams competed in the prestigious New York City Bar Association's National Moot Court Competition