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Randee Waldman

Clinical Professor of Law
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Areas of Expertise

Child Advocacy, Children's Rights, Education Law, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Procedure


Courses

Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic, Education Law and Policy, Kids in Conflict with the Law, Criminal Procedure: Adjudication


Biography

Randee J. Waldman serves as the director of the Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic at Emory University School of Law. In this role, she supervises law students in holistic representation of young people charged with delinquent and status offenses. In addition to representing these clients in their juvenile court cases, she and her students also represent them in special education proceedings, school suspension proceedings, and other forums according to the clients’ needs. Waldman engages in policy work related to youth justice issues and teaches courses in youth justice, education law and criminal procedure.

Prior to joining the Juvenile Defender Clinic in 2006, Waldman practiced in New York for nine years. She began her legal career as a litigation associate at the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. She then worked for almost six years as a senior attorney at Advocates for Children of New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring quality and equal public education services for New York City’s most vulnerable students. While at Advocates for Children, Professor Waldman represented parents and students to obtain appropriate special education services for students with disabilities, represented students in school discipline proceedings, served as co-counsel in several impact litigation cases in federal court, and directed the pro bono and law student intern programs.

Professor Waldman is a widely respected trainer, speaker, and writer. She is a NITA certified trial skills trainer and a certified trainer for the Gault Center's (formerly National Juvenile Defender Center) Youth Development Advocacy Program (formerly Juvenile Training Immersion Program). She has presented at numerous regional and national conferences, including Gault Center / National Juvenile Defender Center Leadership Summits, Southern Youth Defender Center Regional Summits, Georgia Public Defender Council’s Annual Statewide Defender Conferences, Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association Annual Youth Justice Seminar, Virginia State Bar’s Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. Indigent Criminal Defense Advanced Skills for the Experienced Practitioner Training Program, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association conference, Florida’s Child Litigation Skills Training, the Mississippi Youth Court Defender Conference, and many more.

Professor Waldman serves on the Advisory Council for the Gault Center's Southern Youth Defender Center, the Juvenile Justice Committees of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the advisory council for PARTNERS for Equity in Child and Adolescent Health, and the executive committee of the Child Protection and Advocacy Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

Awards

  • 2023: GACDL's Indigent Defense Award
  • 2022: Provost's Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education
  • 2022: GACDL President's Commitment to GACDL Award
  • 2016: National Juvenile Defender Center's Champion of Justice award
  • 2013: Juvenile Law Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the Georgia Bar award for Outstanding Delinquency Legal Advocate.

Education: JD, University of Chicago Law School; BA, Haverford College