Matching Excellence with Access

April 2026 Newsletter

Greetings from Athens in springtime. This is one of my favorite times of the year – the campus is beautiful and bustling with activity, and even my car gets its annual dusting of gold. 

Some recent noteworthy events include: Awards Day, where we recognized some of our hardest-working students, faculty and staff; the Edith House Lecture delivered by Lynn Chastain (J.D.’84), the former general counsel and senior vice president of Chick-fil-A; a Q&A featuring the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Bobby Christine; and a visit by Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Gobeil (J.D.’95), the school’s current Hines Jurist in Residence. And, in a few days, we will hold our annual alumni awards ceremony, where we will honor three individuals for their commitment and dedication to the law school, the legal profession and society (see below for more information).

I also enjoyed connecting with current and future Law Dawgs beyond Athens – from Atlanta to Columbus to Augusta, and from New York City to Nashville to Washington, D.C. Our community truly extends far and wide.

At the University of Georgia School of Law, we remain focused on redefining what it means to be a great national public law school – one that matches excellence and access. The most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings continue to affirm this vision with the School of Law counted among the top law schools in the nation, including coming in at #6 for Ultimate Bar Passage Rate and #9 for federal judicial clerkships.  

As always, thank you for your continued support and Go Dawgs! 

- Dean Usha R. Rodrigues 

Dean Usha R. Rodrigues and third-year student Jessie Thompson, who was honored with the LSAC Award for Highest Academic Average for the Class of 2026 and the Morgan Award for Excellence in the Study of Business Law and Ethics. This was the law school's the first in-person Awards Day ceremony in eight years.

Terry, McMillian and Smith to be honored with awards

New faces coming soon to UGA Law

Students argue before the 4th and 11th U.S. Courts of Appeals

Class of 2023 posts Ultimate Bar Passage rate of 97.62%

Ringhand publishes book titled "We the Voters"

Seven faculty awarded seed grants 

Law Dawg firm selected #4 in Bulldog 100, 8 others recognized

Weeks named UGA’s vice provost for academic affairs

Read other School of Law news