James "Jim" Bross

James Bross, professor of law, clerked with Neighborhood Legal Services and was a case analyst with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, while attending law school. Upon graduation, he provided criminal and civil representation to low-income residents in Philadelphia with the Defender Association and Community Legal Services. These employment opportunities triggered his interest in housing and neighborhood development, especially the administrative processes that manage those fields.

Bross’ subsequent teaching and research centered on the nexus of housing, land use regulation and natural resources, a focus that was shaped at the beginning of his teaching career at Lewis and Clark Law School in Oregon, when the state adopted landlord-tenant law reforms and its statewide land use system. That foundation prompted courses in Property, Land Use, Water Law and Natural Resources Law at Georgia State University College of Law where he was a founding faculty member. Bross chaired the Admissions Committee, the Promotion & Tenure Committee and a Self-Study during the early critical growth of the college to full accreditation.

Bross has published works on landlord-tenant law, land use regulation and water law in law reviews and Thompson on Real Property. He is the author of Georgia in the leading treatise Waters and Water Rights through 25 years of revised editions.

Bross is now a professor of law emeritus.