University of Georgia School of Law

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The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Georgia Law accepted 14.77% of applicants for the class entering in 2023.<ref name=rank/><ref name=admit/>

Georgia Law recent graduates include 11 governors, over 110 state and federal legislators, approximately 70 federal judges, and numerous state supreme court justices, practitioners, government officials, ambassadors, trial court judges, academics and law firm principals. Notable recent alumni of Georgia Law include former acting United States Attorney General Sally Yates, former President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate Richard B. Russell Jr., former Chief Judge and present Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals Larry Edmondson, and Ertharin Cousin, named to the TIME 100 most influential people in the world list and Payne Distinguished Professor at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The law school was founded in 1859. The founding three professors of the university's new law school included one of the United States' first state supreme court chief justices, Joseph Lumpkin, a Princeton alumnus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Joining him was attorney Thomas Cobb, who was the author of first enacted comprehensive codification of common law in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The third original law professor was William Hull, an honors graduate of the University of Georgia, who had been a United States Attorney and a Solicitor General of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Previously, law courses had been offered as part of the undergraduate curriculum of Franklin College of the university. The first classes of the Lumpkin Law School, as it was originally designated, were held at the law offices of Lumpkin and Cobb at the corner of Prince Avenue and Pulaski Street until 1873.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:University of Georgia School of Law Class of 1889.jpg
University of Georgia Law School, Class of 1889

By 1880, the curriculum included courses in equity, parliamentary law, and various commercial law studies such as partnership, insurance, tax, and tariffs. Around 1889, stricter admission standards mandated that students be at least 18 years old. Two years later, an entrance exam had been instituted. The modern method of case law instruction was ushered in during the 1920s. In December 1931, the school was granted membership in the Association of American Law Schools. After being housed in various buildings over the years, the law school in 1932 moved into the new Hirsch Hall, named in honor of prominent attorney Harold Hirsch, located on historic North Campus at the University of Georgia.<ref name=HistUGA>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hirsch Hall, expanded by many thousands of square feet over the years in connected buildings and upgrades, remains the site of law school classrooms and offices, as well as the Alexander Campbell King Law Library and the Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Law School Renovation Project">Template:Cite web</ref> A 2012 renovation created almost 4,000 square feet of additional space, including a cafe and enclosed three story courtyard.<ref name="Law School Renovation Project"/>

The law school's four-story, 40,000-square-foot separate addition, Dean Rusk Hall, opened in 1996 adjacent to Hirsch Hall.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Named for former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who was a Georgia Law professor, this building became the new home of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, founded in 1977. Dean Rusk Hall also houses additional classrooms, faculty offices, and library space, and a second law school courtroom, the James E. Butler Courtroom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the three years up to 2020, the Law School raised an additional $61 million to add to its endowment for scholarships, teaching, clinics, and experiential offerings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, the Law School received an additional $5 million donation from the Stanton Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Academics

More than 300 courses, clinics, and seminars are offered at Georgia Law, including business-related law, property-related law, personal rights and public interest law, trial and appellate practice, as well as global practice preparation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although academics, theory, and legal reasoning are primary, Georgia Law is also ranked A+ and 16th of all ABA law schools for practical training.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ninety-four percent of students participate in clinics and externships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Degrees awarded include the Juris Doctor (J.D.), the Master of Laws (LL.M.) for foreign-trained lawyers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Master in the Study of Law (M.S.L.) for those who do not want to practice law, but wish to gain an understanding of legal principles and perspectives in order to advance their careers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Students also may choose to pursue interdisciplinary coursework in other University schools and colleges, or to earn one of many dual degrees including a J.D./M.B.A. or LL.M./M.B.A.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), is a member of the Association of American Law Schools, has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, and is host to two advocacy inns: Lumpkin Inn of Court, one of the earliest American inns of court, and E. Wycliffe Orr Sr. American Inn of Court. Both are modeled after the English inns of court.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also an academic partner of the American Society of International Law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Admissions

The law school is among the most selective law schools in the nation, Georgia Law accepting 14.77% of applicants for the Class entering in 2023, with that class having an median LSAT score of 169 and median undergraduate GPA of 3.83.<ref name=update>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=admit>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=avg>Template:Cite web</ref> The class entering in 2025 also had a 169 median LSAT score and an increased median 3.92 undergraduate GPA.<ref name="class25">Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia Law's 2024 average selectivity rating was 96 out of a possible maximum of 99, Georgia Law enrolled students being in the top 3% of law school applicants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 27% of enrolled students self-identify as belonging to historically underrepresented groups.<ref name=update/> Although grades, degrees earned, and standardized test scores are important, for each applicant the admissions committee primarily considers a mandatory personal admission essay, a mandatory resume detailing the applicant's education, employment, fellowships, skills, honors, awards, community involvement, volunteer work, and other accomplishments, as well as mandatory letters of recommendation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 165 students entering in 2023 came from 26 states, 15 countries, and 66 undergraduate institutions.<ref name="class25"/><ref name=update/> Of those students, 73% received merit based scholarships<ref name=brief>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="University of Georgia">Template:Cite web</ref> and 92% received some form of financial aid.<ref name=five/>

Student support and faculty to student ratio

Georgia Law's Mentorship Program matches every law student with a faculty member mentor, an upperclassman peer mentor, a Career Development Office counselor, and an alumnus professional mentor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> New students may participate in the voluntary Summer Academic Success Program that begins before orientation to enhance academic success and the transition to the rigors of law school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are just six students for each faculty member.<ref name="U.S. News & World Report L.P">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="About the School of Law">Template:Cite web</ref>

Rankings

For the 2024 Top 50 Law School Rankings, of the 196 ABA-approved law schools, Georgia Law was ranked No.13. However, according to the study by Law School Transparency, Georgia Law ranked in the top ten nationally for employment outcomes, while The New York Times recognized Georgia law as being in the top five law schools offering the best salary-to-debt ratios in the nation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Furthermore, the law school has been ranked No.13 of the top best law schools by the National Jurist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as by Above the Law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> U.S. News & World Report's 2025 ranks Georgia Law tied for 22nd out of 197 ABA schools, with U.S. News also ranking Georgia Law the No.10 school out of 197 schools for Law Schools With the Most Graduates in Federal Clerkships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The school is additionally individually ranked in Trial Advocacy, Business/Corporate Law, Clinical Training, Constitutional Law, Contracts/Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Healthcare Law, Legal Writing, and Tax Law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia Law has also been ranked in the top ten in various experiential rankings: quality of life (6th), classroom experience (6th), professors (10th), accessibility of professors (2nd), academic experience (4th), and quality of teaching (9th).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Finally, based on outcome-driven factors such as average indebtedness, bar passage, and employment, Georgia Law has been ranked No.1 as the best value in legal education in the United States by the National Jurist since 2019 for five years.<ref name=five>Template:Cite web</ref>

Law review and journals

Georgia Law students publish four legal journals:
Georgia Law Review
Journal of Intellectual Property Law
Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law
Georgia Criminal Law Review.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
These journals have frequently been cited by federal and state courts, as well as textbooks and law reviews.<ref name="http://www.law.uga.edu/journals">Template:Cite web</ref> Membership on the journals is limited to students in their second and third years of law school.<ref name="http://www.law.uga.edu/journals" /> In addition to the Georgia Law Review, students publish the online component, the Georgia Law Review Posts, which features essays by students, practitioners, judges, and professors focused primarily on timely legal issues in the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. courts of appeals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Alexander Campbell King Law Library

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Entrance to the Alexander Campbell King Law Library.

The Alexander Campbell King Law Library is the oldest and largest law library in the state of Georgia. In 1967, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black gave the keynote address at an outdoor ceremony to dedicate a modern law library building adjacent to Hirsch Hall.<ref >Template:Cite web</ref> Housing a collection of more than 500,000 digital and print titles, the law library is a founding member of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance and the Law Library Microform Consortium. It has been designated a Federal Depository Library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The library is also one of the United States' Specialized European Documentation Centres, houses the Faculty Writings Collection, the Phillips Nuremberg Trials Collection, the Rare Book Collection, and the J. Alton Hosch Collection, which includes the extensive personal library of Dean Hosch, a member of the law school faculty from 1935 to 1964.

The Louis B. Sohn Library on International Relations is housed within the school's Dean Rusk International Law Center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Sohn library is the extensive international law collection of Louis B. Sohn, who was the Woodruff Chair professor at Georgia Law and previously the Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School.

For the 2024-25 academic year, more than 425 Georgia Law students enrolled in clinical and field placement programs for approximately 82,000 hours.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are over 100 organizations, experiential learning and practical training offerings, and other additional education opportunities at Georgia Law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the offerings include, without limitation, the Business Law Clinic, Civil Law Practice Externships, the Corporate Counsel Externship, the Environmental Law Practicum, the Washington D.C. Semester in Practice, the First Amendment Clinic,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Global Externships Overseas, Global Governance Summer School,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Atlanta Semester in Practice,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Corsair Law Society (transactions and litigation in major financial markets),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the Family Justice Clinic, Labor & Employment Law Association, Public Interest Law Council, Real Estate & Other Property Organization,<ref name=org>Template:Cite web</ref> the Mediation Clinic, the Community Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Clinic, Business Law Society, American Constitution Society,<ref name=org/> the Public Interest Practicum and Fellowships, Health Law Society, Intellectual Property Law Society, International Law Society,<ref name=org/> the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, Family Law Society, Association of Law and Politics,<ref name=org/> the Criminal Defense Practicum, the Prosecutorial Justice Program, Environmental Law Association,<ref name=org/> Veteran Legal Services Clinic, Trial Lawyers Association,<ref name=org/> Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills, Entertainment & Sports Law Society, Federal Bar Association, Tax Law Society,<ref name=org/> national award-winning moot court, mock trial, and negotiation programs (for example, in last five years members have been awarded 28 national and ten regional titles and, for the average of three years through 2023, the moot court program was ranked sixth best of all 196 U.S. ABA accredited law schools),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia Law–Leuven Centre Global Governance Summer School in Belgium,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia Law at the University of Oxford program, and the Capital Assistance Project.<ref name="U.S. News & World Report L.P"/><ref name="About the School of Law"/> Students in the Appellate Litigation Clinic have briefed and argued before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits (with students winning five times in four courts in 2020–2021).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=dar>Template:Cite web</ref> The Global Externship initiative provides global practice preparation for many students each summer, for instance past practice preparation included, without limitation, placement with law firms like DLA Piper in Russia, GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB in Germany, Priti Suri & Associates (PSA) in India, Siqueira Castro Advogados in Brazil, and King & Wood Mallesons in China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To educate students in the benefits of public service and the functioning of the judiciary, up to 20 jurists, including U.S. Supreme Court justices, U.S. Court of Appeals judges, and trial judges, visit Georgia Law to teach classes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Costs

U.S. News & World Report ranks Georgia Law as having the lowest tuition of the top 20 law schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The total of tuition and fees for one year at Georgia Law is $18,994 for Georgia residents and $37,752 for non-residents. The total cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses) for the 2022–23 academic year is estimated to be $36,694 for Georgia residents living on-campus, $39,860 for Georgia residents living off-campus, $56,286 for non-residents living on-campus, and $59,452 for non-residents living off-campus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Non-resident students are able to obtain Georgia residency at the beginning of their second year of law school, and besides other scholarships, available are tuition reduction scholarships that allow non-residents to pay resident tuition for one or two semesters of the first year of Georgia Law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Further, over 73% of the members of the class matriculating in 2024 received merit based scholarships funded by donors,<ref name="University of Georgia"/> 92% of students received some form of financial aid, and 50% of students did not need to borrow at all for their education.<ref name=five/> U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgia Law as a top five law school in having the 4th best salary to debt ratio,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Georgia Law has been ranked #1 as the best value in legal education in the United States by the National Jurist since 2019 for five years.<ref name=five/><ref name="law.uga.edu">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=brief/>

Carl E. Sanders Reading Room in the law library.

Employment

Living Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.<ref name="Global network of more than 10,500">Template:Cite web</ref> Those who graduated in 2021 are working in 26 states and abroad.<ref name=NAT/> According to ABA required disclosures, not including those choosing to open their own practices, to pursue additional education, etc., 98% of the 2022 graduating class were hired to perform high-value jobs within nine months after graduation, and 94.79% held full-time, long-term, JD-required positions at that point (Georgia Law being the nation's #1 law school for high-value jobs out of 196 ABA-approved schools).<ref name=reuters/><ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref name=NAT>Template:Cite web</ref> For the class graduating in 2022, Georgia Law was ranked in the top four of all 196 ABA approved law schools for the highest percentage of graduates obtaining full-time legal jobs requiring bar passage.<ref name=reuters>Template:Cite news</ref> Georgia Law was among the top law schools that sent the highest percentage of juris doctor graduates into associate positions at the largest 100 law firms in the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of 202 students who graduated in 2021 - not including those who opened their own practices, pursued additional education, etc. - 57 went to law firms with up to 50 attorneys, 54 to law firms with 51 to over 500 attorneys including 25 to law firms of over 500 attorneys, 5 to business organizations, 38 to government and public interest organizations (not including judicial clerkships that 38 graduates obtained) and six to academia.<ref name="ReferenceB">Template:Cite web</ref>

Serving as a judicial clerk is considered one of the most prestigious positions in legal circles, and often opens up wide-ranging opportunities in private practice, high-ranking government work, and academia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia Law has had six alumni serve as judicial clerks for justices of the United States Supreme Court since 2005. Based on the 2005-2021 graduating classes, the School of Law was ranked 14th among the nation's law schools for sending its graduates to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=ALM/> For the class of 2021, Georgia Law placed 38 graduates in federal and state court clerkships (for 2020 Georgia Law had a top eight placement rate of all ABA approved law schools in the nation for federal court clerkships).<ref name=ALM>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable recent alumni

Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.<ref name="Global network of more than 10,500"/> Among recent Georgia Law graduates are 11 governors, more than 110 state and federal legislators, approximately 70 federal appeals and district court judges, multiple state trial and appeals court judges, numerous state supreme court justices, government officials, ambassadors, law firm principals, as well as other notable practitioners, leaders, authors, and academics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some recent graduates include the following.

References

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