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Georgia's Chief Justice to Teach at Georgia Law P. 18 Headlines Georgia’s chief justice to teach at Georgia Law or the 2009-10 academic year, In addition to teaching at Georgia Law, Sears will join the Atlanta F students at Georgia Law will have office of the law firm Schiff Hardin and will begin a one-year term the privilege of studying under the at the Institute for American Values in a fellowship post bearing her former Supreme Court of Georgia late brother’s name – William Thomas Sears. C h i e f Ju s t i c e L e a h Wa rd Se a r s . Sears was appointed to the state’s highest court in 1992, becom- As a visiting professor, she will ing the first woman and youngest person ever to serve on its bench. teach Contemporary Issues in Family Sears became presiding justice in 2001 and was named chief justice Law as well as another course yet to be in 2005, becoming the first African-American female chief justice named. in the country. Regarding the teaching post, Sears Her previous judicial experience includes service on the Superior said, “I’m excited to have the chance Court of Fulton County as well as the City Court of Atlanta. She to work with young people. And I look forward to being back in the also practiced law as an attorney at Alston & Bird in Atlanta. academic world of a college campus.” Sears earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her Sears will step down from the state’s Supreme Court on June 30, law degree from Emory University and her Master of Laws from the when her term as chief justice ends. University of Virginia. “I’m excited to have the chance to work with young people. And I look forward to being back in the academic world of a college campus.” – Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears Brennen selected as dean of Kentucky avid A. Brennen is the co-author of one of the Prior to entering the legal teaching acad- D Brennen has first law school casebooks devoted exclu- emy in 1995, Brennen worked as assistant been named as sively to tax laws that impact nonprofit general counsel of Florida’s Department of the new dean of organizations, The Tax Law of Charities Revenue where his practice areas included the University of and Other Exempt Organizations. tax litigation oversight and tax policy Kentucky College of Brennen is also the editor of the first advisory opinions. He also worked as an Law, a post he will electronic abstracting journal on non- associate with Messer, Vickers, Caparello, assume on July 1. profit law to be published by the Social Madsen, Lewis, Goldman & Metz in Tallahassee, Fla. Specializing in tax Science Research Network in its Legal law, Brennen joined the Georgia Law fac- Research Network series titled Nonprofit Brennen earned his bachelor’s degree from ulty in 2006 and has spent the last two and Philanthropy Law Abstracts and a Florida Atlantic University and his Juris academic years serving as deputy direc- co-editor of the first blog for nonprofit Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation tor of the Association of American Law and philanthropy law professors titled from the University of Florida. Schools. Nonprofit Law Prof Blog. School ranks sixth in the nation for clinical opportunities he National Jurist magazine recently ranked Georgia Law as The newest is the Special Education Practicum, which was for- T sixth in the nation for providing the most clinical opportunities malized into the curriculum this past fall. to its students. Other opportunities include the Capital Assistance Project, The law school was also described as having a “full range of the Civil Externship Clinic, the Criminal Defense Clinic, the unique clinical programs” in the article accompanying the ranking. Environmental Practicum, the Family Violence Clinic, the Land Currently, there are 10 different service learning programs avail- Use Clinic, the Mediation Practicum, the Prosecutorial Clinic and able to students at Georgia Law. the Public Interest Practicum. 18 2009 Advocate www.law.uga.edu 112946 Text alts.indd 18 6/9/09 12:20:00 PM.
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