ALUMNI
Your connection to Georgia State University College of Law doesn’t end at graduation. The connections you make at Georgia State Law are lifelong.
As a College of Law graduate, we are invested in your success. We offer mock interviews, resume and cover letter critiques, and more through the Center for Professional Development & Career Strategies. In addition, we host in-person and virtual alumni events and invite alumni to return to campus to collaborate with faculty, speak to students and volunteer. You also have the ability to make a positive impact on our college by hiring a graduate or making a donation.
Get connected and stay connected. That’s #TheStateWay.
Swearing-In Ceremony
Please join us for the 2023 Swearing-in Ceremonies for the Fulton County Superior Court, Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Friday, November 17, 2023
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Participants should arrive no later than 9:40 a.m. sharp to participate in the Swearing-in Ceremonies.
Georgia State University College of Law
Knowles Conference Center & Ceremonial Courtroom
85 Park Place NE, Atlanta, GA
Special Note: This will be an in-person ceremony for participants only.
Who is Eligible?
All College of Law alumni in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia, including newly minted lawyers, are eligible to participate in the admission to one or all three courts.
How do I Participate?
- HAND DELIVER your original Certificate of Eligibility from the Supreme Court of Georgia Board of Bar Examiners and Applications to the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia to:
- Maria Johnson – Office of Development & Alumni Relations
Georgia State University College of Law
85 Park Place, Suite 402
- Maria Johnson – Office of Development & Alumni Relations
- The College of Law cannot accept other methods of delivery.
- All certificates and applications must be delivered no later than 2 p.m. on Friday, October 27, 2023.
- Please contact Maria at [email protected] or 404-413-9026 to schedule a time to deliver your application.
- Maria will be available on the following dates and times to accept your documents
- October 13 – October 26, 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- October 27 – 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Applications submitted after the October 27 deadline at 2 p.m. will NOT be accepted due to the court processing deadline.
- Please DO NOT drop your paperwork off at the front desk or leave it with anyone other than Maria Johnson.
- After delivering your original Certificate of Eligibility and applications for the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia, you are eligible to participate in the Court Swearing-in Ceremony.
- Your RSVP is NOT confirmed until payment and original paperwork are received in the Development Office at the law school by the 2 p.m. deadline on October 27, 2023.
STATE BAR OF GEORGIA - FORM SUBMISSION & PAYMENT INFO
- HAND DELIVER Original Certificate of Eligibility for State Bar of Georgia to Maria Johnson.
COURT OF APPEALS OF GEORGIA & SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA – FORM SUBMISSION & PAYMENT INFO
- Professors Cass Brewer and Kendall Kerew have agreed to sponsor and endorse the applications of licensed Georgia attorneys, including newly minted lawyers (College of Law alumni only) for admission to the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
- HAND DELIVER applications for the Court of Appeals of Georgia and/or Supreme Court of Georgia to Maria Johnson. The College of Law cannot accept other methods of delivery.
- Court of Appeals of Georgia Admissions Application
- Supreme Court of Georgia Admissions
- Cost:
- $30 Fee- Admission to the Court of Appeals of Georgia
- $30 Fee - Admission to the Supreme Court of Georgia
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AFTER THE CEREMONY
You will receive a live-stream link for the swearing-in ceremonies to share with your family and friends.
Instructions from the Fulton County Superior Court
- Following the ceremonies, you will be receiving an email from Nick Cotten, Fulton County Superior Court, asking for your signature via DocuSign.
- Please be mindful your membership application to the State Bar of Georgia cannot be submitted until the swearing-in order has been signed by all parties.
- You must access the State Bar of Georgia Membership Department to obtain forms and information about the membership fees, visit www.gabar.org or call 404-527-8777 for further information.
Questions?
Contact Maria Johnson in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at [email protected] or 404-413-9026.
Alumni Calendar
Center for Professional Development & Career Strategies
Support from the Center for Professional Development & Career Strategies doesn’t stop once you land your first job. We make a lifelong commitment to all Georgia State Law graduates. Whether you are pursuing your first or fourth job, we can help you with job leads, alumni connections, resume review and interview skills.
Job Search
CPD is committed to helping Georgia State Law graduates succeed. Available jobs are posted in Symplicity, which is accessible to students and alumni with logins. Students and alumni may view all job postings, including positions for experienced attorneys.
Resume Review and Interview Prep
CPD offers resume review, cover letter editing and interview preparation services for alumni.
Staying in Touch
When you change jobs or career status, submit a Class Notes Form. By keeping us updated with your successes, we can better support new and upcoming graduates as they seek internships and employment.
Another way to stay in touch with Georgia State Law is to return to campus for speaking engagements and other programs. Contact CPD if you or your company can participate in speaking engagements, on-campus interviews, networking events or job fairs.
Hire Georgia State Law
If you plan to hire an attorney, summer associate or law clerk within the next year, our CPD team can help you find your next great hire. Learn the benefits and resources available to employers on the Hire Georgia State Law page.
Center for Professional Development & Career Strategies Team
Share Your News!
Class Notes Form
Ben F. Johnson Public Service Award
The Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award is presented each year to a living Georgia attorney whose accomplishments reflect the tradition of public service that our founding dean, Ben F. Johnson Jr., exemplified during his life and throughout his career. Johnson helped argue a case before the Georgia Supreme Court in 1962, successfully challenging a state law that denied tax exemptions to integrated private schools. He also sought support for a program to help recruit minority law students during his years as dean of Emory University School of Law.
Johnson was elected to a state senate seat representing DeKalb County, serving in the Legislature from 1962-1969. He was the principal author of the legislation creating the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). At Georgia State Law, he helped make possible the return of ABA-accredited, part-time legal education for Atlanta students.
Nominations
Recipients are living Georgia attorneys whose overall accomplishments reflect the high tradition of selfless public service that our founding dean exemplified during his career and life.
Nomination Materials:
- Nomination Letter under 2,500 words
- Nominee's CV or resume
- News accounts of their public service
- Supporting letters describing their public service
If you know a lawyer who exemplifies these qualities, submit your letter of nomination and any supporting materials by 5 p.m. on October 31, 2023.
The Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award Selection Committee will announce the recipient in Spring 2024.
Past Recipients
- 2023: Tom Jones
- 2022: Dawn M. Jones (J.D. '00)
- 2021: Bernard Taylor Sr.
- 2020: Robert B. Remar
- 2019: Mawuli Mel Davis (J.D. '02)
- 2018: Edward J. ‘Jack’ Hardin
- 2017: Bobby Lee Cook
- 2016: Aimee Maxwell (M.Ed '83, J.D. '87)
- 2015: Rita A. Sheffey
- 2014: Miles J. Alexander
- 2013: Judith A. O’Brien
- 2012: Randall L. Hughes
- 2011: Emmet J. Bondurant
- 2010: Horace Sibley
- 2009: Steven Gottlieb
- 2008: Honorable Orinda D. Evans
- 2007: John T. Marshall
- 2006: Linda K. DiSantis (B.A. '85, J.D. '88)
- 2005: Honorable Anthony A. Alaimo
- 2004: Honorable Robert Benham
- 2002: Honorable Griffin B. Bell
- 2001: Clifford Oxford
- 2000: Honorable Luther A. Alverson
- 1999: Paul Cadenhead
- 1998: Randolph W. Thrower
- 1997: Honorable Dorothy Toth Beasley
- 1996: Honorable Harold G. Clarke
- 1995: Donald L. Hollowell
- 1994: Honorable Elbert P. Tuttle
Miller Lecture
The Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series is supported by the Charles Loridans Foundation Inc. The series is named for Henry J. Miller, a partner with Alston & Bird for over 50 years. During his distinguished career, Miller served as counsel to and the director of the C&S National Bank. He also was on the board of directors of the Atlanta Gas Light Co. and the American Southern Insurance Co.
With his death on Feb. 9, 2000, the College of Law lost a great friend.
Miller graduated magna cum laude from Emory University and earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1929. That same year, he was admitted to the Georgia Bar and became associated with the predecessor to Alston & Bird. From 1973 to 1976, Miller was a member of the three-person committee that reviewed amicus briefs for the American Bar Association. In 1980, he was designated Amicus Curiae of the Supreme Court of Georgia “in recognition of (his) distinguished service and contribution to the improvement of the administration of justice.” In 1998, he and his wife endowed the Ben F. Johnson Jr. Chair in Law in honor of the college’s founding dean.
The Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series is supported by the Charles Loridans Foundation Inc.
Past Recipients
1987
- Murray Schwartz, UCLA School of Law
- Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
1988
- Stephen Gillers, New York University School of Law
- A. Leon Higginbotham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
1989
- Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Herma Hill Kay, University of California Berkeley School of Law
1990
- Patricia McGowan Wald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Talbot D’Alemberte, Florida State University College of Law
1991
- Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow, Georgetown University Law Center
- Hal S. Scott, Harvard Law School
1992
- Walter J. Wadlington, University of Virginia School of Law
- Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Supreme Court
1993
- Derrick A. Bell Jr., New York University School of Law
- Hans Dolinar, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
1994
- Nadine Strossen, New York Law School
1995
- Drew S. Days III, Yale Law School
- Arthur T. von Mehren, Harvard Law School
1996
- Nathaniel R. Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court
1997
- Lynn A. Baker, University of Texas Austin School of Law
- Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Irvine School of Law
- Robert F. Nagel, University of Colorado Law School
- Edward L. Rubin, Vanderbilt Law School
- Ronald M. Dworkin, New York University School of Law
1998
- Richard A. Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
- Kathleen M. Sullivan, Stanford University Law School
1999
- Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School
- Anthony T. Kronman, Yale Law School
2000
- Sanford V. Levinson, University of Texas Austin School of Law
- Jeremy J. Waldron, New York University School of Law
2001
- Carol M. Rose, Yale Law School
- A.E. Dick Howard, University of Virginia School of Law
2002
- Linda Greenhouse, Yale Law School
- Randall L. Kennedy, Harvard Law School
2003
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court
- Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Kenneth W. Starr, Pepperdine University School of Law
2004
- Stanley Fish, Florida International University College of Law
- Walter E. Dellinger III, Duke University School of Law
2005
- Lillian R. BeVier, University of Virginia School of Law
- Robert C. Clark, Harvard Law School
2006
- Cherif Bassiouni, DePaul University College of Law
- Glenn C. Loury, Brown University
2007
- Elizabeth Bartholet, Harvard Law School
- Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law
2008
- Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Supreme Court, Retired
- John O. McGinnis, Northwestern University School of Law
2009
- Peggy Cooper Davis, New York University School of Law
- Geoffrey R. Stone, University of Chicago Law School
2010
- Ian Ayres, Yale Law School
- Mark V. Tushnet, Harvard Law School
2011
- Pamela S. Karlan, Stanford University Law School
- Roberta Romano, Yale Law School
2012
- Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California Irvine School of Law
- Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
2013
- Michael C. Dorf, Cornell University Law School
2014
- John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court, Retired
- Elyn R. Saks, University of Southern California Gould School of Law
2015
- Akhil Reed Amar, Yale University
- Mark A. Lemley, Standford Law School
2016
- Adam Liptak, New York Times
- Dahlia Lithwick, Slate and Newsweek
- Robert Barnes, The Washington Post
- William Eskridge, Yale Law School
2017
- Lisa Foster, U.S. Dept. of Justice
- Owen D. Jones, Vanderbilt Law School
2018
- Barry C. Scheck, Innocence Project
- Kara M. Stein, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2019
- Shawnna M. Hoffman, IBM Cognitive Legal Practice
- David A. Martin, Univeristy of Virginia School of Law
2020
- Dorothy E. Roberts, George A. Weiss University
2022
- Mary Ziegler, University of California Davis School of Law
Law Alumni Council
The Law Alumni Council is the governing body of the College of Law Alumni Association. The purpose of the council is to build the reputation of the College of Law, raise money, and create connections between students and alumni. The council also advises the dean on issues and opportunities in legal education and other alumni interests.
The council consists of up to two representatives from each graduating class. Members of the council are nominated by faculty, staff and administrators. Nominations are sent to the Office of Development & Alumni Relations and the council's executive committee. Council members are expected to attend regular meetings and give of their time, talents and treasures to GSU Law.
Executive Committee
President (Interim)
Brett Switzer (J.D. ’12)
Vice President
Bob Watts (J.D. ’14)
Secretary
Ramona Condell (J.D. ’13)
Class Representatives
1997
- Joe Farrell
2001
- Cheryle Cooper
2002
- Joshua Schiffer
2005
- Ramsey Knowles
2006
- Lisa Payrow
2008
- Shelley Momo
- Nicola Pasquarelli
2010
- Jason Wiggam
2011
- Maria Batres
2012
- Kristen Spires-Williams
- Brett Switzer
2013
- Ramona Condell
- David Emadi
2014
- Jason Carruthers
- Bob Watts
2015
- Kevin Coleman
- Anamaria Hazard
2016
- Luke Donohue
- Billy King
2017
- Pierre Noebes
2018
- Monique Mead
2019
- Jarvarus Gresham
2020
- Kassi Conley
- Parth Matalia
- Glenn Wells
2021
- Nick Daly
- Ellen Min
2022
- Jeannine Holmes
- Chase Martenson
- Anthony Nguyen
The Class Gift Campaign Scholarship Fund, an enduring legacy class gift program, was created by the Class of 2008. Class Gift Campaign funds now provide both immediate and ongoing financial support to students at the College of Law.
An annual scholarship is awarded to a deserving student from the subsequent year’s entering class, and a portion of the gift goes toward an endowment that grows over time to support additional scholarships.
The goal of the Class Gift Campaign is to reach 100 percent participation from the graduating class. A gift of any amount is included in the overall participation percentage and provides financial support to an incoming law student.
Class Gift Campaign donors receive:
- Recognition in the official Hooding Ceremony printed program (if the gift is received by April 19th).
- Recognition in the college’s annual fund report with all fellow law graduates who contribute annually.
- Recognition on the campaign interior windows in the law library.
- The satisfaction of helping to provide an affordable legal education to a future alumnus/a, colleague or friend.
Ways to Give Back
There are many ways to support the College of Law. Find the area of need that resonates with you. Donors who contribute more than $1,000 each year qualify for the Dean’s Club membership, the law school’s annual leadership donor society.
Fund for Law
Unrestricted gifts to the Fund for Law help guarantee a dependable, ongoing source of support for the college’s annual operating budget and other important needs. Right now, you can leave lasting mark by naming a locker in the College of Law. For $1,000, your legacy can help us burn brighter.
Program Specific
Another way to have a positive impact is to support student activities, programs, clinics and centers.
Scholarships
Scholarships help us to attract the most talented students from all walks of life. State restrictions on funding allocation make it impossible for the college to fund its own scholarships. This means that private giving makes a GSU Law education available to a diverse student body.
CONTACT
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 4037
Atlanta, GA 30302-4037
Physical Address
85 Park Place NE
Atlanta, GA 30303