Georgia State University College of Law

Law school in Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State University College of Law

Parent school| Georgia State University
Established| 1982[1]
School type| Public
Dean| Interim Dean Courtney Anderson
Location| Atlanta, Georgia, US
Enrollment| 461 (Full Time)[1]
Faculty| 52 (Full- and part-time)[1]
USNWR ranking| 75th (tie) (2024)[1]
Bar pass rate| 78% (Georgia bar exam, July 2023 first-time takers) [2]
Website| Georgia State University College of Law
ABA profile| Georgia State University College of Law

Georgia State University College of Law is a law school located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1982, it is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

The Georgia State University College of Law building located at 85 Park Place in downtown Atlanta.

In addition to the Juris Doctor degree, the college offers joint degree programs with other colleges at Georgia State University and the Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning.

The college offers a full-time and a part-time program. The cost of tuition at Georgia State Law for the 2024–25 academic year is $17,596 for full time in-state students, $38,578 for out-of-state students and $38,850 for out-of-country students.[4]

## History

[edit]

As far back as the early 1970s, Georgia legislators and academic leaders debated establishing a new law school. The Georgia State University College of Law finally was sanctioned by the state’s Board of Regents in 1981 and Ben F. Johnson became its first dean.[5]

The college enrolled 200 students in its inaugural year, taught by six professors. Most students were part-time, and many took classes at night, because they had full-time jobs during the day. The college’s first seven graduates were hooded in December 1984.

By the end of its first decade, full-time faculty had grown to 31, nearly half of whom were women.

## Rankings

[edit]

Georgia State University College of Law is currently ranked as the 69th best law school by U.S. News & World Report (2023-2024).[4] The College of Law also boasts a strong Health Law program (currently ranked 1st nationally by U.S. News & World Report) and a successful part-time program (currently ranked 12th nationally).[4] The law school was ranked 42nd by Above The Law in 2019 using metrics that focus more on student outcomes rather than inputs.[6] Additionally, GSU was named by Princeton Review in its 2013 edition of The Best 168 Law Schools.[7]

## Tuition

[edit]

The cost of tuition and fees at Georgia State University College of Law for the 2024-2025 academic year for full time in-state students is $17,596 and $38,578 for out-of-state students and $38,850 for out-of-country students.[4]

## Admissions

[edit]

The fall 2024 incoming class of Georgia State Law students had a median GPA of 3.56 and a median LSAT score of 159.[8]

## Clinical programs

[edit]

The school has a number of legal clinics, such as the Phillip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, which serves low-income taxpayers.[9]

## Study abroad

[edit]

The school operates the Summer Academy in International Commercial Arbitration, a five-week, six-credit hour study abroad program based in Linz, Austria.[10] the Buenos Aires Summer Program in Argentina (jointly sponsored with the Florida International University College of Law); and the Summer Legal and Policy Study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[11]

## Employment

[edit]

According to Georgia State's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 71.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[12] Georgia State's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 13.4%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[13]

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Judiciary
* Shawn LaGrua, J.D. 1987 - Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia[14]
* John "Trea" Pipkin III, J.D. 2005 - Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals
* J. Wade Padgett, J.D. 1990 - Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals[15]
* Barbara Swinton, J.D. 1991 - Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals[16]
* Cynthia J. Becker, J.D. 1987 - Judge, DeKalb County Superior Court
* Bill Hamrick, J.D. 1991 - Superior Court Judge, Coweta Judicial Circuit; former member of the Georgia State Senate (D-30); incoming Georgia State-wide Business Court judge[17]
* Charles M. Eaton Jr, J.D. 2012 - Superior Court Judge, Atlanta Judicial Circuit; former member of the Georgia Public Service Commission
* Government
* Glenn Richardson, J.D. 1984 - Former Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives (2005-2010)
* Cynthia Coffman, J.D. 1991 - 38th Attorney General of Colorado
* Keisha Lance Bottoms, J.D. 1996 - former Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Senior Advisor to the President;[18] former Mayor of Atlanta; former member of the Atlanta City Council[19][20]
* Steve Tumlin, J.D. 1988 - Mayor of Marietta, Georgia
* Curt Thompson, J.D. 1993 - Former member of the Georgia State Senate (D-5); former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (69th District)
* Rich Golick, J.D. 1997 - Former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (40th District)
* Trey Kelley, J.D. 2014 - Current member of the Georgia House of Representatives (16th District)
* Beth Moore, J.D. 2011 - Former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (95th District)
* Sam Park, J.D. 2013 - Current member of the Georgia House of Representatives (101st District)
* Matt Ramsey, J.D. 2005 - Former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (72nd District); House Majority Whip (2013-2016)
* Bonnie Rich, J.D. 1994 - Former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (97th District)
* Stephen Dickson, J.D. 1999 - 18th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
* Nika Rurua, J.D. 2001 - Former member of the Cabinet of Georgia (country)
* Other notable alumni
* Claudia Brind-Woody, J.D. 1999 - IBM executive
* Stan Case, J.D. 1996 - News anchor of CNN Radio (1985-2011)
* Linda Dunikoski, J.D. 1993 - Prosecutor in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal (2014-2015) and murder of Ahmaud Arbery (2021) trials
* Emily Jacobson, J.D./MBA 2014 - Olympic saber fencer
* Notable faculty
* Paul A. Lombardo, Professor of Law - Senior Advisor to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
* Thomas W. Thrash, Professor of Law (1986-1997) - Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

## See also

[edit]

* Georgia State University Law Review

## References

[edit]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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1. ^ a b c d "U.S. News & World Report, Best Law Schools: Georgia State University". Retrieved 11 April 2024.
2. ^ https://www.gabaradmissions.org/getpdfform.action?id=2160 [bare URL PDF]
3. ^ College of Law. Retrieved on 2013-12-18.
4. ^ a b c d "U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings".
5. ^ "Ben F. Johnson Jr". Georgia State University College of Law.
6. ^ "The 2019 ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
7. ^ "2013 Princeton Review Best Law Schools". Archived from the original on 2012-12-03.
8. ^ "See Yourself at Georgia State Law".
9. ^ "Phillip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01.
10. ^ "SAIICA". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17.
11. ^ "Summer Legal and Policy - Rio".
12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-06-12.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. ^ "Overview of Georgia State University".
14. ^ Bluestein, Greg; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Kemp names Shawn LaGrua to Georgia's top court". ajc. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
15. ^ "Gov. Kemp Announces Appointments to Court of Appeals, Columbia Circuit Superior Court and Solicitors General | Governor Brian P. Kemp Office of the Governor". gov.georgia.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
16. ^ office, Submitted by Governor Mary Fallin's. "Governor Mary Fallin selects Judge Barbara Swinton to fill vacancy on Oklahoma Civil Appeals Court". Norman Transcript. Retrieved 2017-11-08. `{{cite news}}`: `|first=` has generic name (help)
17. ^ "Gov. Kemp Appoints Judge Hamrick to State-wide Business Court". Governor Brian P. Kemp Office of the Governor. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
18. ^ "Keisha Lance Bottoms to join White House as senior Biden adviser". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
19. ^ Godwin, Becca J. G. "Who is Atlanta mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
20. ^ Poole, Shelia; Stafford, Leon. "Keisha Lance Bottoms sworn in as the new Mayor of Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2018-01-03.

## External links

[edit]

* College of Law
* Academic Programs and Centers
* Georgia State University

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Georgia State University

Located in: Atlanta, Georgia

Academics|

* Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
* College of Arts & Sciences
* College of Education
* Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions
* Georgia State University College of Law
* J. Mack Robinson College of Business
* University Library
* Honors College
* School of Public Health
* Perimeter College
* Institute for Biomedical Sciences

Athletics|

* Sun Belt Conference
* Fight Song
* Football
* Season
* Men's Basketball
* Season
* Women's Basketball
* Season
* Beach Volleyball
* Season
* Softball
* Season
* Baseball
* Season
* Georgia State Panthers
* Center Parc Stadium
* GSU Sports Arena
* Pounce
* Georgia Southern–Georgia State rivalry

Campus|

* Georgia State Convocation Center
* Campus expansion
* Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant
* Municipal Auditorium
* Rialto Center for the Arts
* J. Mack Robinson College of Business Administration Building

Student life|

* Greek life
* GSTV
* New South
* Rampway Online
* The Signal
* WRAS / Album 88

People|

* Alumni
* Faculty

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Law schools of the Southeastern United States

Alabama|

* Birmingham School of Law
* Cumberland School of Law (Samford Univ.)
* Miles Law School
* Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (Faulkner Univ.)
* University of Alabama School of Law

Arkansas|

* University of Arkansas School of Law
* William H. Bowen School of Law (UALR)

Florida|

* Ave Maria School of Law
* Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law (Barry Univ.)
* Florida A&M University College of Law
* Florida International University College of Law
* Florida State University College of Law
* Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF)
* University of Miami School of Law
* Shepard Broad Law Center (Nova Southeastern Univ.)
* St. Thomas University School of Law
* Stetson University College of Law

Georgia|

* Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
* Emory University School of Law
* Georgia State University College of Law
* Savannah Law School
* University of Georgia School of Law
* Walter F. George School of Law (Mercer Univ.)

Louisiana|

* Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
* Paul M. Hebert Law Center (LSU)
* Southern University Law Center
* Tulane University Law School

Mississippi|

* University of Mississippi School of Law
* Mississippi College School of Law

North Carolina|

* Duke University School of Law
* Elon University School of Law
* Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (Campbell Univ.)
* North Carolina Central University School of Law
* University of North Carolina School of Law
* Wake Forest University School of Law

Puerto Rico|

* Eugenio María de Hostos School of Law (closed)
* Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law
* Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law
* University of Puerto Rico School of Law

South Carolina|

* Charleston School of Law
* University of South Carolina School of Law

Tennessee|

* Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law (Univ. of Memphis)
* Duncan School of Law (Lincoln Memorial Univ.)
* Nashville School of Law
* University of Tennessee College of Law
* Vanderbilt University Law School

Virginia|

* Appalachian School of Law
* Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason)
* The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School
* Liberty University School of Law
* Regent University School of Law
* University of Richmond School of Law
* University of Virginia School of Law
* Washington and Lee University School of Law
* William & Mary Law School

33°45′07″N 84°23′08″W﻿ / ﻿33.7519°N 84.3855°W﻿ / 33.7519; -84.3855

Authority control databases

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* ISNI
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