Matching Excellence with Access

August 2026 Newsletter

From bumper-to-bumper traffic on Milledge Avenue to law students swarming North Campus, the new school year is upon us, along with all the excitement that comes with it.

Some of the highlights from the summer include our students broadening their skill-sets across our state, country and world. Our students worked and studied in rural Georgia towns like Eastman as well as in larger cities like Atlanta; across the country in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Oakland; and as far away as Argentina, Finland and Vietnam.

Dean Rodrigues and Professor Christian Turner pictured with UGA Law alumni at the “Between the Hedges: Developing the AI Playbook at UGA” event earlier this month.

I too traveled and met with alumni and academic colleagues in Chicago, Colorado, Florida and California. Just a few weeks ago I engaged in a lively, at times quite philosophical, conversation on the role of AI in legal education and law practice with Associate Professor Christian Turner, who spent the summer in San Francisco as an AI and Society Fellow for the Center for AI Safety.  

The use of artificial intelligence in higher education is clearly on our minds, and every school is searching for the right strategy. As I foreshadowed in my last newsletter, the law school has developed a comprehensive approach to ensure our students graduate with essential critical-thinking and analytical skills as well as fluency in the latest technology.

I am pleased to share the School of Law has once again enrolled its highest academically credentialed J.D. class in school history. The medians for the entering Class of 2026 are 169 LSAT and 3.93 undergraduate GPA. Due to our status as one of the best returns on investment in legal education, we received more than 3,800 applications and enrolled 189. These students will study alongside a talented corps of new LL.M. and M.S.L. candidates, as well as some excellent transfer students. 

I’m excited for this new school year and the promise it brings. I also look forward to connecting with you during the coming year and sharing all the good things happening at UGA Law.

Please be sure to mark your calendar for this year’s tailgate on October 17! And, as always … Go Dawgs!   

 - Dean Usha R. Rodrigues 

UGA among best law schools for salary-to-debt ratio

Phillips-Sawyer named associate dean for academic affairs

Most academically credentialed J.D. class matriculates

Kishore receives school's largest public interest fellowship grant

Ringhand and Ortman appointed to named professorships

Seven professors earn new titles/promotions

Three Law Dawgs part of UGA 40 Under 40 Class of 2026

Wilbanks, Johnson and Naghepour serve as leaders of alumni boards

The Dean's Tailgate is being hosted in place of the annual School of Law Homecoming BBQ due to the confirmed early kickoff time on 10/3/26.