TheUniversity of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is thelaw school of theUniversity of Georgia, apublicresearch university inAthens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation.[5] Georgia Law accepted 14.77% of applicants for the class entering in 2023.[3][6]
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, aPrinceton alumnus.[8] Joining him was attorney Thomas Cobb, who was the author of first enacted comprehensive codification of common law in the United States.[9] 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.[10] Previously, law courses had been offered as part of the undergraduate curriculum ofFranklin 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.[11]
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 theAssociation 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 attorneyHarold Hirsch, located on historic North Campus at the University of Georgia.[12]
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 theAlexander Campbell King Law Library and the Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom.[13][14] A 2012 renovation created almost 4,000 square feet of additional space, including a cafe and enclosed three story courtyard.[14]
The law school's four-story, 40,000-square-foot separate addition, Dean Rusk Hall, opened in 1996 adjacent to Hirsch Hall.[15] Named for formerU.S. Secretary of StateDean 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.[16][17]
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.[18] In 2024, the Law School received an additional $5 million donation from theStanton Foundation.[19]
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.[20] Although academics, theory, and legal reasoning are primary, Georgia Law is also ranked A+ and 16th of all ABA law schools for practical training.[21] Ninety-four percent of students participate in clinics and externships.[22]
Degrees awarded include theJuris Doctor (J.D.), theMaster of Laws (LL.M.) for foreign-trained lawyers,[23] and theMaster 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.[24] 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.[25][26]
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 anmedianLSAT score of 169 andmedian undergraduateGPA of 3.83.[30][6][31] The class entering in 2025 also had a 169median LSAT score and an increasedmedian 3.92 undergraduate GPA.[32] Georgia Law's 2024average selectivity rating was 96 out of a possible maximum of 99, Georgia Law enrolled students being in the top 3% of law school applicants.[33] Approximately 27% of enrolled students self-identify as belonging to historically underrepresented groups.[30] 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.[34]
The 165 students entering in 2023 came from 26 states, 15 countries, and 66 undergraduate institutions.[32][30] Of those students, 73% received merit based scholarships[35][36] and 92% received some form of financial aid.[37]
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.[38] 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.[39]
There are just six students for each faculty member.[40][41]
For the 2024Top 50 Law School Rankings, of the 196 ABA-approved law schools, Georgia Law was ranked No.13. However, according to the study byLaw School Transparency, Georgia Law ranked in the top ten nationally for employment outcomes, whileThe New York Times recognized Georgia law as being in the top five law schools offering the best salary-to-debt ratios in the nation.[42][43][44][45] Furthermore, the law school has been ranked No.13 of the top best law schools bythe National Jurist[46] as well as byAbove the Law.[47]U.S. News & World Report's 2025 ranks Georgia Law tied for 22nd out of 197 ABA schools, withU.S. News also ranking Georgia Law the No.10 school out of 197 schools for Law Schools With the Most Graduates in Federal Clerkships.[48] 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.[49] 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).[50] 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 bythe National Jurist since 2019 for five years.[37]
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.[51] These journals have frequently been cited by federal and state courts, as well as textbooks and law reviews.[52] Membership on the journals is limited to students in their second and third years of law school.[52] In addition to theGeorgia Law Review, students publish the online component, theGeorgia Law Review Posts, which features essays by students, practitioners, judges, and professors focused primarily on timely legal issues in theU.S. Supreme Court andU.S. courts of appeals.[53]
Entrance to the Alexander Campbell King Law Library.
The Alexander Campbell King Law Library is the oldest and largestlaw library in the state of Georgia. In 1967,U.S. Supreme CourtJustice Hugo Black gave the keynote address at an outdoor ceremony to dedicate a modern law library building adjacent to Hirsch Hall.[54] 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 aFederal Depository Library.[55] 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.[56][57] The Sohn library is the extensive international law collection ofLouis B. Sohn, who was the Woodruff Chair professor at Georgia Law and previously theBemis Professor of International Law atHarvard 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.[58] There are over 100 organizations, experiential learning and practical training offerings, and other additional education opportunities at Georgia Law.[59] 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,[60] Global Externships Overseas, Global Governance Summer School,[61] the Atlanta Semester in Practice,[62] Corsair Law Society (transactions and litigation in major financial markets),[63] the Family Justice Clinic, Labor & Employment Law Association, Public Interest Law Council, Real Estate & Other Property Organization,[64] the Mediation Clinic, the Community Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Clinic, Business Law Society, American Constitution Society,[64] thePublic Interest Practicum and Fellowships, Health Law Society, Intellectual Property Law Society, International Law Society,[64] the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, Family Law Society, Association of Law and Politics,[64] the Criminal Defense Practicum, the Prosecutorial Justice Program, Environmental Law Association,[64] Veteran Legal Services Clinic, Trial Lawyers Association,[64] Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills, Entertainment & Sports Law Society,Federal Bar Association, Tax Law Society,[64] national award-winningmoot court,mock trial, andnegotiation 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),[65][66][67][68] Georgia Law–Leuven Centre Global Governance Summer School in Belgium,[69] Georgia Law at theUniversity of Oxford program, and the Capital Assistance Project.[40][41] Students in the Appellate Litigation Clinic have briefed and argued before theU.S. Courts of Appeals for theFourth,Ninth,Eleventh, andD.C. Circuits (with students winning five times in four courts in 2020–2021).[70][71] 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.[72] 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.[73][74]
U.S. News & World Report ranks Georgia Law as having the lowest tuition of the top 20 law schools.[75] 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.[76][77] 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.[78] Further, over 73% of the members of the class matriculating in 2024 received merit based scholarships funded by donors,[36] 92% of students received some form of financial aid, and 50% of students did not need to borrow at all for their education.[37]U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgia Law as a top five law school in having the 4th best salary to debt ratio,[79] while Georgia Law has been ranked #1 as the best value in legal education in the United States bythe National Jurist since 2019 for five years.[37][80][35]
Living Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.[81] Those who graduated in 2021 are working in 26 states and abroad.[82] 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).[83][84][82] 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.[83] 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.[85] 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.[84]
Serving as ajudicial 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.[86] Georgia Law has had six alumni serve asjudicial clerks forjustices of theUnited 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.[87][88] 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 forfederal court clerkships).[88]
Georgia Law graduates work in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.[81] 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.[89] Some recent graduates include the following.
^Stetz, Mike (Spring 2020)."Best Schools for Practical Training".preLaw / National Jurist. No. 4 Vol. 23. preLaw / National Jurist / through Lewis & Clark Law School. RetrievedAugust 17, 2022.
