Georgia State College of Law clinical and experiential learning faculty are highly-respected experts in their focus areas. Below is a list of experiential learning faculty highlights for spring 2021:
Ted Afield, Mark and Evelyn Trammell Professor, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
Publications:
"Moving Taxpayer Disputes Online Without Leaving Taxpayer Rights Behind," 74 TAX LAWYER 1 (2020).
National Service:
Afield continued to work as a member of the IRS Advisory Council, which published its IRSAC 2020 Public Report for calendar year 2020.
Panels & Presentations:
Co-presenter (with Erin Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate), 2021 Annual Grantee Conference, Examination, Appeals, and Litigation, (online, due to COVID-19), December 2020.
Media:
- “Duplicate Stimulus Checks Creating Confusion for Americans,” by Lydia O’Neal, Bloomberg Tax, April 13, 2021 (quoted in regards to the ramifications for taxpayers of the IRS’s mistakenly issuing duplicate stimulus checks).
- “The Stimulus Bill’s Tax Change for Gig Workers Explained,” by Lydia O’Neal, Bloomberg Tax, March 11, 2021 (quoted in regards to changes the stimulus package made to tax reporting requirements for gig economy workers).
- “Top 100 Must-Follow Tax Twitter Accounts For 2021,” by Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, December 31, 2020 (listed as one of the top 100 tax Twitter accounts).
- “9 Things Tax Pros Are Grateful For This Thanksgiving,” by Amy Lee Rosen, Law360 (November 23, 2020) (quoted in regards to the benefits of the IRS relaxing its electronic signature requirements as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Lisa Bliss, Associate Dean of Experiential Education, Clinical Programs, Clinical Professor, Co-director of Health Law Partnership Legal Services Clinic
National & International Service:
Bliss served on the 2020 and 2021 conference planning committees for the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education. She is also the co-president of the Global Alliance for Justice Education.
Panels & Presentations
- Transnational Virtual Conference on the Future of Legal Education, the Practice of Law, and the Judiciary, hosted by John Marshall Law School, Bahcesehir University, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, February 12, 2021. Co-presented “Creating Virtual Education Spaces to Support Inclusion, Belonging, and Wellbeing in the Classroom.”
- International Symposium on Educating Future Lawyers for Just & Sustainable Society, Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India. February 8, 2021.
- Virtual symposium speaker on “Designing Interdisciplinary Law Clinics.”
- Legal Education as Justice Education: A Special Symposium Celebrating Prof. Ernest Ojukwu SAN at 60, Abuja, Nigeria. Virtual symposium hosted by Network of University Legal Aid Institutions, Nigeria). Keynote remarks, September 26, 2020.
Kendall Kerew, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Director of Externships
National Service:
Kerew was elected member to be a member of the executive committee of the AALS Balance in Legal Education Section in January. She also finished her term as president of the Clinical Legal Education Association in December; and assumed the role of Immediate Past President in January.
Panels & Presentations:
- "ABA Standards and Externships in a Changing World: Surviving and Thriving During the ABA Accreditation Process (Plenary)," Externships 10 Virtual Conference; October 23, 2020 (with Eden Harrington, Carolyn Wilkes Kaas and Daniel Schaffzin).
- "Virtual Placements, Virtual Practice: Designing Twenty-First Century Externships," Externships 10 Virtual Conference; accepted for March 2020 and presented October 23, 2020 (with Dena Bauman, Gillian Dutton, Chipo C. Nyambuya and Amy Sankaran).
- "Smarketing Externships: Gathering Data, Measuring Impacts, and Communicating Results," Externships 10 Virtual Conference; accepted for March 2020 and presented October 21, 2020 (with Elizabeth Grant, Alexander Scherr and Kelly Terry).
Will Miller, Clinical Supervising Attorney
Panels & Presentations:
- In September of last year Miller was an invited speaker on a panel discussion regarding representation of noncitizens with serious mental disorders. The discussion was organized by the Vera Institute of Justice, the nonprofit organization that manages a Department of Justice initiative-- the National Qualified Representatives Program -- under which counsel is appointed to detained noncitizens whom an immigration judge has found mentally incompetent.
- In November of last year, Miller was an invited speaker on a "Basics of Asylum Law" training session sponsored by the Georgia-Alabama chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Grants:
On behalf of the Immigration Clinic, he applied for and received a grant from the American Bar Endowment to sue the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in federal court for wrongful denial of noncitizens' work permit applications.
James Mitchell, Clinical Supervising Attorney and Adjunct Instructor of Law
Mitchell supervised Georgia State College of Law students in the HeLP Legal Services Clinic on legal matters related to disability benefits and special education. He supervised students at several virtual school meetings, successfully advocating for children with disabilities to receive individualized education plans, Section 504 accommodation plans, and hospital/homebound services plans.
Panels & Presentations:
Mitchell presented “Medical-Legal Partnership: An Interdisciplinary Model to Improve Patient and Public Health” to the Georgia State University Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Brooke Silverthorn, Lecturer of Law and Co-director, Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic
Publications:
Co-Authored Chapter: Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable and At-Risk School Age Children in: COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future. Boston: Public Health Law Watch (2021).
Panels & Presentations:
- Participated in a “COVID Legal Briefing” with Public Health Law Watch on - 3/2/21
- Guest Speaker for Webinar series: Public Health + Social Justice sponsored by the Emory Rollins School of Public Health- February 9, 2021.
Emily Torstveit Ngara, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Director Immigration Clinic
National Service:
Torstveit Ngara was selected for a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN).
Panels & Presentations:
She presented on November 10, 2020 with Professor Paul Lombardo and attorney Elizabeth Matherne on a panel entitled Immigration and Human Rights: News from Georgia's ICE Detention Centers as part of Perimeter Honors College’s International Education Week.