Faculty diversification and expansion in the curriculum:
Beginning in the 1990s under the stewardship of Dean Woody Hunter, faculty diversification enabled Emory Law School to become a national leader in the areas of law and religion and human rights. The Law School was also able to offer students a substantially expanded and enriched curriculum. In 1995 the Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library was built to fully support the expanded teaching and research missions of Emory Law School.
During his three-year tenure (2002-2005), Dean Thomas C. Arthur was able to hire five female and two minority faculty members. The expertise of these scholars and their ground-breaking academic projects and programs continue to attract faculty, students, and visiting scholars from around the world to teach and engage in interdisciplinary research at Emory, ultimately producing a vast amount of scholarship.
David F. Partlett was appointed to the deanship in 2006. Dean Partlett tirelessly led the Law School through a successful multi-year capital campaign. Also under his administration, the Strategic Plan was revised and several new academic centers were established, once again expanding and enriching the curricular offerings at Emory Law.
Robert A. Schapiro became dean of Emory Law in July 2012. Throughout his first four years, Dean Schapiro has prioritized fostering a dynamic intellectual community in part by ensuring support for the pursuit of path-breaking interdisciplinary scholarship. Dean Schapiro’s administration has also sought to optimize career guidance for students with the creation of the Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy. And as legal practice becomes increasingly global, expanding the global reach of Emory Law continues to be a top priority.
Serving the Needs of Diverse Communities:
Not only do the many clinics, centers, programs and projects founded and supported during these decades provide opportunities for students to integrate theory and practice, but they are also consistent with Emory Law’s long-standing traditions of public service and commitment to social justice.
The law student-created Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) honors and celebrates public interest law and makes it possible for students to spend summers doing public interest work serving members of countless communities. Also founded by law students, in 2013, the Volunteer Clinic for Veterans gives students and attorney volunteers the opportunity to assist Georgia veterans in obtaining the economic benefits earned by their service.
Established in 1998, the Turner Environmental Law Clinic provides free legal assistance to community groups and non-profits working to protect and restore the environment. And since 2000, the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic has been serving neglected and abused children in Georgia by supporting the lawyers and policymakers charged with protecting them.
“Leadership in law arises from a passion for justice and an impatience with the status quo.”
