The University of Georgia School of Law will expand its footprint with an Atlanta campus that will open for the 2016 spring semester. The first program to be launched at the new facility will be the Atlanta Semester in Practice, which will offer second- and third-year students the opportunity to receive full-time, practical experience through placements in the judicial, government, corporate and nonprofit arenas.           

“The opportunity to receive hands-on, full-time training will greatly benefit our students as they seek to begin their careers in the legal profession. In addition, the agencies and companies that provide placements will be receiving the assistance of some of our nation’s brightest law students,” said Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. “We are excited to begin this new chapter in the law school’s storied history and look forward to the opportunities an Atlanta campus will bring to our students, alumni and employers.”

Students electing to spend a semester at the Atlanta campus will work full time in placements that include the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Georgia Supreme Court and the House Democratic Caucus, as well as a number of other government, nonprofit and corporate locations. In addition to the externships, students will take a clinical seminar and upper-level courses, allowing them to earn a total of up to 16 credits for the semester.

Hillel Y. Levin, Georgia Law in Atlanta director and associate professor, said this program is a terrific opportunity for students to spend a semester working and learning practical lawyering skills in Atlanta-area legal settings. “The program provides access to an impressive array of civil practice settings and opens up new opportunities for professional networking,” he said.

Alexander W. Scherr, Georgia Law director of civil clinics and associate professor who is overseeing the student externship portion of the program, said it is important to note that law students will thrive academically while participating in the Georgia Law in Atlanta program. “We want our students to make the most out of the experience and develop their careers through observation, reflection and relationship building at their placements,” he said.

“Alongside our other experiential programs and our semester in Washington, D.C., and our semester at Oxford, this latest opportunity is one more way we are ensuring that students at Georgia Law are receiving first-rate legal training and learning experiences that will allow them to succeed,” Rutledge said.

The University of Georgia School of Law Atlanta Campus will be housed within the Terry College of Business Executive Education Center in Buckhead (across from Lenox Square Mall).