Casey retires with nearly 40 national titles and lasting friendships
For the last 26 years, the University of Georgia School of Law has been a dominant force in moot court and mock trial. During this period, the advocacy program captured 39 national titles, 65 regional crowns and 18 state trophies, not counting the scores of individual and team honors bestowed on students for oral advocacy or brief writing.
This tremendous record is a tribute to the coaching provided by the school’s Director of Advocacy Kellie R. Casey (J.D.’90), who retired on June 1.
Casey said she still remembers when then-Dean David E. Shipley interviewed her and called to offer her the position. She added that her first year was one with several key wins, especially the school’s first Intrastate Moot Court Competition win in six years (with UGA teams finishing in first and second in the annual all-Georgia tournament) and Rob McNiff (J.D.’02) winning the Best Oralist Award at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (notably, all of his teammates also earned oralist honors that year).
UGA Law’s list of impressive wins under Casey’s tutelage includes national titles in the National Moot Court Competition (twice), the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship (four times) and the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge (five times). UGA teams also earned significant regional victories in the National Trial Competition (12 times), the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition (11 times) and the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition (five times). Additionally, the School of Law dominated at the Intrastate Moot Court Competition, with 18 first-place trophies, and at the annual courtroom battle with the University of Florida, tallying 17 wins.
Despite the number of trophies amassed, Casey said she feels her biggest accomplishment is the friendships she has developed with alumni and former students – some of whom count among her best friends today. “I want to be remembered for truly caring about each and every student I have worked with,” she said.
In 2019, alumni Kevin E. Epps (J.D.’08), Jeffrey W. DeLoach (J.D.’03) and Adam L. Hoipkemier (J.D.’08) spearheaded their law firm’s effort to create the Kellie R. Casey Scholarship to recognize Casey’s contributions to the school and its storied advocacy program. At the time, they stated that due to Casey’s tireless passion and commitment, advocacy students enter into the practice of law “well-prepared to be formidable advocates for their clients.”
Casey plans to remain in Athens during retirement and is considering working part-time. For pleasure, she is looking forward to cooking dinner at night, spending time with family and traveling. “These are a few things I have kind of missed over the last 26 years,” she added, noting her regular advocacy schedule of working after 6 p.m. and on weekends.
UGA President Jere W. Morehead (J.D.’80), commenting previously on Casey’s impact, said, “I have known Kellie since she was a Georgia law student and an accomplished member of the advocacy program that I led at the time. Her record then and her record since that time have been nothing short of superb. She spends countless hours coaching her students to be the best they can be in competitions, and she is admired and respected by our graduates for her dedication to their education and training and her personal mentorship.”
While earning her law degree at UGA, Casey participated in the school’s moot court program, winning several individual oralist honors and competing as a member of the prestigious National Moot Court Competition team.
Scherr’s legacy includes nine clinics/externships and a culture of service
The name Alexander W. “Alex” Scherr has long been synonymous with clinics at UGA Law. Over 30 years, he played a role in either creating or shaping many of the school’s clinical and experiential offerings, including: the Civil Externship, the Community Health Law Partnership Clinic, the Corporate Counsel Externship, the Mediation Clinic, the Public Interest Practicum, the Veterans Legal Clinic and the Wilson Family Justice Clinic. He was instrumental in creating the Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Semesters in Practice. From 2016 to 2018, he served as the school’s associate dean for clinical programs and experiential learning.
When the 2026-27 academic year commenced on July 1, it was without Scherr and his steady and guiding presence, as after three decades of service to UGA Law he retired. In his wake, he leaves a legacy that will continue to shape and mold future lawyers for our state and society.
Reflecting on his time at the School of Law, Scherr said he is most proud of his role in developing “the amazing collection of high-quality clinics and externships” the school now offers. Scherr emphasized that this achievement was the work of many hands: “many other faculty and deans deserve praise” for these programs. He noted, “It’s deeply gratifying to see decisions we made 30 years ago or more become what we have now: first-rate experiential courses that attract good students to the law school and send them out well-prepared for the personal and professional challenges of law practice.”
He has many fond memories of his time at the law school: a student connecting legal work with something that they believe in and realize they can actually do, a new clinic stabilizing, a new clinician discovering satisfaction in his/her work, the collaboration with other faculty to improve a law school rule or policy, the achievement of a life changing result for a client or the satisfaction of helping a person find the next step out of a tough spot.
Scherr said “regular contact with students, their energy, their intelligence, and their innate optimism” are what he will miss the most from his time at the law school. “Keeping up with students has kept me honest, focused, and hopeful through good times and bad.”
Scherr was not only a leader on the law school’s faculty, but also had a national impact on the field of clinical legal education.
He is the author of Learning From Practice and Green’s Georgia Law of Evidence. He served as president of the Clinical Legal Education Association, and he advocated successfully for changes to the ABA rules that shape how clinics and externships contribute to law schools. He served on the editorial board of the Clinical Law Review. He organized many regional and national conferences on clinical education. He also served as a drafter of the Multistate Performance Test for the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
In 2019, he received the prestigious William Pincus Award from the Clinical Section of the Association of American Law Schools. In the same year, UGA also recognized Scherr with its Engaged Scholar Award. In 2025, he received the inaugural Career Achievement Award from the AALS Externship Committee. Additionally, earlier this year, the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium presented Scherr with its Founder’s Vision Award.
In retirement, Scherr and his wife, Candace, will live on their farm outside of Athens. With “plenty of possibilities but no plans,” he expects to renew his work as a court-related mediator and “show up for one-day legal clinics” across the state. He also looks forward to sleeping late, learning tai chi and photography, writing poems, building computers, and going on road trips with his wife and their many dogs.
