Three students receive state bar awards

Third-year students (l. to r.) Briana Hayes, Mia McKnight and Alexandra Smolyar and Dean Bo Rutledge smile after all three were individually presented the Law School Student Excellence in Access to Justice Award from the State Bar of Georgia. This prestigious honor recognizes law students who have “excelled in participation in support of a civil pro bono or legal aid program” or who have “been instrumental in the development of a civil pro bono program.” Photo courtesy of the State Bar of Georgia.

First-year student raises awareness for homelessness

Prior to the start of law school, first-year student Gordon Wayne continued work he began as an undergraduate student at Boston College when he walked 570 miles from Virginia to Athens to raise money for homeless individuals. After his high school graduation, Wayne spent 14 months living in his car and, upon earning a scholarship to his undergraduate alma mater, he walked 550 miles to Boston while raising funds for homelessness prevention organizations. His dedication to increasing homelessness awareness has resulted in the attention of numerous media outlets, and Wayne has thus far raised more than $200,000 to aid those in need.

Pena and Ortega attend national Hispanic conference

Third-year student Brian Riera Pena (right) and second-year student Yaritzi Ortega were selected to attend the 2024 Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference in Seattle, Washington, to serve as law student volunteers. There, they were able to interact with corporate counsel practitioners from many of the nation’s leading law firms as well as attend workshops and panel discussions covering a wide range of legal topics.

Law students host three conferences

David Fountain, the executive vice president and general counsel of the Tennessee Valley Authority, presented the keynote lecture at this year’s Georgia Law Review symposium.

School of Law student groups continued their tradition of hosting timely discussions and events for members of the legal community during the 2023–24 academic year, some of which included:

• The 2024 Georgia Law Review symposium titled “Evolving Landscapes: American Land Use & Resiliency” explored issues related to land use, climate change and how the increasing threat of climate change is and should be addressed by laws and regulations. The keynote address was presented by David B. Fountain, the executive vice president and general counsel of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
• Pressing legal and ethical questions surrounding artificial intelligence outputs and the U.S. Supreme Court case Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy were the topics of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law’s annual conference. Rogers Chair of Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Law Joseph S. Miller presented the keynote address titled “Generative-AI Outputs and Copyright Infringement: Thoughts at the Threshold.”
• “Exploring Environmental Justice” was the focus of the 38th Red Clay Conference organized by the Environmental Law Association. Panel discussions focused on tools and innovations used to address the disproportionate environmental and health effects on marginalized communities. The Peter Appel Honorary Keynote Lecture was presented by Daniel Blackman, the former Region IV director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Additionally, the Equal Justice Foundation auction raised more than $12,000 at its annual event. Funds from the auction are used to support students who have chosen to work in unpaid public interest positions during the summer.