University of Georgia

Advocate

Scholars and students explore timely topics

2024-25 Conferences

Multiple student groups organized timely discussions and conferences on current topics for members of the legal community during the 2024–25 academic year. Some of these events are highlighted below.

Chief Judge Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivers the keynote address at the Georgia Law Review symposium.

U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton delivered the keynote address at the 2025 Georgia Law Review conference.

  • State constitutions took center stage at the 2025 Georgia Law Review symposium titled “A Nation of States: State Constitutional Rights in the Modern Era.” Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered the keynote address. The event also hosted state Supreme Court justices from three states who served as panel moderators, including Georgia Supreme Court Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren.
  • The Journal of Intellectual Property Law held its annual symposium in March, exploring applications of IP law across agriculture, music and advertising. Anuj Desai (J.D.’07) of Arnall Golden Gregory served as one of the speakers and discussed intellectual property as it relates to advertising.
  • The Georgia Criminal Law Review welcomed judges, public defenders, scholars and practitioners to their 2025 symposium titled “A Journey Through the Criminal Justice System.” The event examined topics like prison culture, criminal behavior and life after prison. Panelists included Emerging Scholar Shanée Brown and Adjunct Professor W. Matthew Dodge.
  • The 37th Annual Red Clay Conference, organized by the Environmental Law Association and titled “Grassroots Advocacy for People and Planet,” brought lawyers, professors and community leaders to campus to discuss ways the law can help preserve the country’s limited natural resources. The four panels focused on issues such as environmental education, community partnerships and preserving public spaces.
  • Members of the law school student group The Law & Political Economy Collective hosted “Movement Lawyering: A Law & Social Impact Conference” in the spring. This event brought several esteemed academics and lawyers to campus.

Ford delivers lecture

TV personality Jack Ford speaks to students at the UGA School of Law.

Peabody and three-time Emmy Award Winner Jack Ford delivered a lecture during the 2024 fall semester.

American TV personality Jack Ford delivered a special lecture during the fall semester, which was co-sponsored with the UGA School of Public and International Affairs. Throughout his multifarious career – spanning the fields of journalism, law and academia – Ford has earned three Emmys and a George Foster Peabody Award. For three years, he was a prosecutor in New Jersey before entering private practice. He has handled such high-profile cases as the Northeast’s first death penalty case, one of the nation’s first corporate homicide trials and the Wall Street insider trading scandal of the late 1980s. Ford also taught at Yale University, New York University and Monmouth University, among others. In addition to being a prominent television news anchor for many years, Ford is a best-selling author of three novels and an ESPN college football commentator.