Each year, entering IL students are invited to apply to participate in the Public Interest Dinner series. Students are selected to participate based on their background and interest in public interest law. Participants in the dinner series have the opportunity to meet faculty, other students and invited guests interested in public interest law to discuss public interest law opportunities and challenges in a collegial and informal environment.
The series begins with a reception to which all 3L and 2L students who participated in the past dinner series are invited to meet the new IL group.
There are usually two dinners each semester including one in the spring semester at the Georgia State Capitol during the legislative session.
Topics have included immigration and human rights, environmental law, education law, health law, child advocacy and voting rights. Past guest speakers have included Salbiah Ahmed, Fellow in Islam and Human Rights; Gerry Weber, former Legal Director of the Georgia ACLU; Kerry McGrath, practitioner in Immigration Law; Sylvia Caley, Director of the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Sharon Nelson Hill, Executive Director of Georgia Appleseed.
The series is coordinated by Professor Janette Pratt and the Public Interest research assistant.
First year participants in the 2009-2010 dinner series:
- Kinda Abdus-Saboor
- Ruth Dawson
- Donnalee Donaldson
- Rachel Gordon
- Abe Kannof
- Merriam Mikhail
- Carmen Osorio-Rodrigue
- Will Romine
- Tamara Schiff
- Lauren Slive
- Sydney Spector
- Susannah Strange
- Andrea Wood
- Katherine Wu