How to kill a leviathan - lawyer WINTER 2023 - Emory Law
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lawyer W INT ER 2023 How to kill a leviathan Opioid crisis litigation in America I N S I D E R E C O G N I Z I N G R E T I R E E S • E V O L U T I O N O F C A R E E R S E R V I C E S • S T R I D E S I N I N N O VAT I O N
dean’s view
Focusing in on our mission
contents
ALTHOUGH WE ARE just halfway through the aca- responsibility to shape the future of Emory Law and 17
demic year, the New Year holiday allows us to reflect to recruit the very best new faculty to our commu-
on our community’s accomplishments and to share nity during this significant transition in our faculty
our hopes for the future. It has been an honor and a complement. Within this issue, we introduce you to
pleasure to connect with our faculty, staff, students, several of the new faculty members who have or will
and alumni in person over the
past few months. Our faculty
be joining the law school in the next few months.
The law school’s recruitment efforts have had the
31
members continue to inspire strong support of the university provost and other
students in the classroom senior leaders, especially through the university’s
and to lead scholarly efforts new innovative AI.Humanity Initiative, which will
to understand and to shape support 30 –40 new faculty members with expertise
our laws to meet the needs of in artificial intelligence and machine learning in the
our society. Our staff members law school and in other units across campus.
work with dedication and The law school’s faculty, staff, and alumni are
creativity to support student focused on student flourishing and success. The
success and faculty impact. primary goal of Campaign 2O36 for Emory Law is to
Our students pursue their
dreams with passion, energy,
double our endowment with a focus of dedicating
funds to students, enabling them to graduate with
28 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Carolyn Bregman 82L
and commitment. And, our decreased debt loads, even better preparation for Timothy Holbrook
alumni are deeply involved the bar, enhanced career outcomes, and enriched F E AT U R E S WORTH NOTING Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
in nearly every aspect of the engagement with alumni mentors, faculty, and
school, from funding the staff. As you are introduced to new people and new 4 22 Natasha Patel
Assistant Dean, Center for Professional
scholarships that allow us to projects in these pages, you will also learn about cur- How to kill a leviathan Outside the classroom Development & Career Strategy
Joanna Shepherd 01G 02G
recruit top students, to serv- ricular developments, including new concentrations Opioid crisis litigation in America Emory Law faculty take on special Vice Dean and Thomas Simmons
ing on advisory boards, and created in response to changes in the marketplace appointments Professor of Law
to teaching and mentoring and employer demands. These correspond with a 9 Courtney R. Stombock
students. It has been wonder- story about how career services have changed since
Lifetimes in the law 24 Associate Dean of Advancement
and Alumni Engagement
ful to hear the hum of conver- many of us completed our law degrees. This issue
sation in Gambrell Hall, to see also highlights the incredible work done by our Recognizing faculty retiring this year Clinical impact DEAN
Mary Anne Bobinski
students preparing for class Volunteer Clinic for Veterans. Barton Clinic contributes to Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
in MacMillan Law Library, and to attend numerous Thank you for your continued interest in and 14 landmark case SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
From Matlock to the Suits
COMMUNICATIONS AND EDITOR
events with thought provoking speakers and sophis- involvement with Emory Law. We want to tell stories
ticated discussions about complex legal issues and that help inform, update, and inspire thought. Let us 32 A. Kenyatta Greer
The evolution of career services
debates. know how we’re doing. Email lawcommunications@ Mentorship programs CONTRIBUTORS
Lisa Ashmore, John Bernau, Andrew
Faught, A. Kenyatta Greer, Natasha Patel,
Emory Law’s recognition as a leading law school emory.edu, and share your thoughts and story ideas
in the United States has been deeply connected with our team.
16 Investing in student success Jasmine Reese
to the excellence of our faculty members and the Eye on innovation ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN
Winnie Hulme
accomplishments of our graduates. In this edition of New legal tech program and DEPARTMENTS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Emory Lawyer, you’ll read about faculty scholarship AI.Humanity hire 2 18 21 Brandon Clifton, Temitayo Fayemi,
and alumni involvement in addressing the opioid In camera Class notes Worth noting
Bonnie Heath, Annalise Kaylor,
Emory Photo Video
crisis through litigation. We celebrate several of our Emory Lawyer is published semiannually by Emory University
School of Law and is distributed free to alumni and friends. We
long-serving faculty members who will be retiring Mary Anne Bobinski welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send letters, ON THE COVER
Illustration by Cristina Spanò
news, story ideas, and class notes to lawcommunications@
in the next few months. We are also mindful of our Dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law emory.edu or Emory Law, 1301 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Submit changes of address at alumni.emory.edu/updateinfo. law.emory.edu/lawyer
in camera The Case for Reparations At the 2022 Emory Public Interest Committee Conference, Donna Stephens, founder of the Chattahoochee Brick Descendants’ Coalition, and Dr. Joseph Carter, founder and project coordinator of the Linnentown Project, share a light moment at the dais. P H O T O G R A P H B Y B R A N D O N C L I F T O N 2 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 3
HOW to
KILL a
LEVIATHAN
Opioid crisis litigation
in America
B Y L I S A A S H M O R E • I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y C R I S T I N A S PA N Ò
4 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 5
OxyContin in accordance with its FDA- and litigation in resolving those questions,” “If one restricts the legal sale of tobacco or
approved labeling instructions will likely Lawrence said. “The opioid litigation that is nicotine, one has notched a victory for public
develop physical dependence,” a company still developing health. If … one restricts the legal sale of
spokesman said in a statement to the New is in some ways opioids, at least in the short term, death rates
Yorker. That same year, more than 3,000 opioid comparable—both might rise,” Engstrom and Rabin write. And
lawsuits were combined into a multidistrict involve massive when pharmaceuticals are no longer available,
proceeding in Ohio US District Court Judge claims brought the alternatives are illegal or more dangerous.
Dan Polster’s courtroom. by states against “The move from prescription opioids to heroin
“YOU MURDERED MY DAUGHTER companies believed is a one-way street,” they write. “For a number
Organizing the MDL to have contributed of reasons (including price and ease of acquisi-
and destroyed my family,” a mother of a 22-year-old testified this March Measured by any scale, the epidemic was a levi- to an unthinkable tion), those who graduate to the latter don’t
athan, and like monsters of lore, it left a trail of amount of death and tend to go back to the former.”
in a federal bankruptcy courtroom in White Plains, New York. dead. Judge Polster emphasized urgency from Matthew Lawrence suffering.” A similarity to the tobacco cases was a
the outset: “About 150 Americans are going to Despite the coalition of state attorneys general who drove
It was extraordinary: three members of the Sackler family were required to die today, just while we’re meeting,” he said at public health victory, there were widespread litigation. While a unified front is effective, the
the MDL’s first hearing. concerns the tobacco settlement dollars did number of parties involved and deciding who
The years since have included hearings not go to heal those harmed and prevent fur- was entitled to what from the MDL settlement
listen to 26 people from 19 states tell them about family they’d lost and COVID delays, forming a negotiating ther addiction, Lawrence said. certainly contributed to the complexity of the
class (which was later rejected by the Sixth “This time around, there has been a lot of case, Geller said.
or the costs of their own opioid addiction. Circuit Court of Appeals), and working against attention paid to how opioid settlement funds “With the governmental entities—states,
well-funded multinational defendants. But can be used to address the still-raging over- cities, and counties—there is tremendous over-
The Sacklers’ company, Purdue Pharma, owned the incredibly this year massive settlements with drugstore dose crisis, which killed more people last year lap in population,” he said. “In other words, if
chains and pharmaceutical manufacturers than ever,” Lawrence said. “According to the you live in Fort Lauderdale (a plaintiff), you also
profitable painkiller OxyContin®, introduced in 1996. began — in February: $26 billion to be paid
by Janssen, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and
Since 2000, opioid overdoses have been
responsible for more than a million deaths in
of complex class actions that are important,
but they boil down to being about money.
claimed made the drug safe for many kinds
of pain rather than its previous use mostly for
AmerisourceBergen. July: Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries and AbbVie/Allergan, $6.6 billion;
and in August, a $650 million award against
“I’m involved in a lot of complex class actions
the United States. In 2015, American life expec- But this one is different. People are dying. patients in extremis. CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart to go to Lake
tancy dropped for the first time since World Families are suffering. And the impact is felt by Between 2000 and 2010, the number of US and Trumbull counties in Ohio. (The six-week that are important, but they boil down to being
War II, and opioid overdoses contributed to
the majority of the deaths.
Author Patrick Radden Keefe characterized
everyone — rich and poor, rural and urban. We
all know someone who lost a loved one to this
crisis.”
prescriptions for oral opioids more than dou-
bled. “In 2010, prescription rates topped out
at 81.2 prescriptions per 100 persons per year,”
trial in Polster’s court was the first opioid case
decided by a jury.) about money. But this one is different.
’90s Big Tobacco settlements
the Sackler family’s wealth with his book title:
Empire of Pain. He said the resulting opioid Prior federal prosecution
Nora Freeman Engstrom and Robert L. Rabin
write in their 2021 Stanford Law Review article, Comparisons have been made to the tobacco People are dying. We all know someone who
multidistrict litigation (MDL) has been called In 2007, Purdue pled guilty in a US District “Pursuing Public Health Through Litigation: industry’s 1998 master settlement agree-
“the most complex civil action ever tackled
by any American court.” Paul J. Geller 93L
Courtroom in Abingdon, Virginia, to federal
criminal charges and paid $600 million in
Lessons from Tobacco and Opioids.”
When criminal prosecutions shut
ment that involved 46 states. From the 1950s
forward, tobacco companies won individual
lost a loved one to this crisis.”
is a court-appointed member of the MDL’s fines and settlement payments; investigators OxyContin pill mills down, the flow of cases by arguing that the consumer knowingly
Plaintiff’s Executive said the company had misled doctors, patients, OxyContin slowed. Many of those addicted assumed the health risks. But when they kept
Committee. He and regulators about the potential for abuse then turned to heroin and fentanyl. (The selling a product they knew was addictive and CDC, more than 107,000 Americans died from live in Broward County (a plaintiff) and you also
is a partner with and addiction. But the company marched American Society of Addiction Medicine esti- caused lung cancer (and concealed that knowl- drug overdoses and poisonings in 2021. This live in Florida (a plaintiff). This case involved a
Robbins Geller on, posting astronomical profits that allowed mates that four out of five heroin users started edge), plaintiffs began to win. crisis is still very much in progress.” lot of very nuanced political collaboration—and
Rudman & Dowd the family’s philanthropy to be associated with prescription pills.) By 2016, synthetic Emory Law Associate Professor Matthew Geller agreed. “The tobacco cases were in some cases jostling—between local and state
and practices in the with some of the world’s premier art galler- opioids (primarily illegal fentanyl) were the Lawrence is an authority on addiction largely driven by the states, and the local sub- governments along with the usual litigation
firm’s Boca Raton ies: New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, leading cause of overdose deaths. Narcan, an who serves as a special advisor to the Drug divisions felt that they did not see the funds. against very sophisticated defendants. The
offices. the Guggenheim, the Louvre, and London’s antidote which had been around since the Enforcement Agency. He notes similarities, but States used money not only for anti-tobacco defendants—manufacturers, distributors, and
“It is the most Tate Modern, among others. Most have since 1970s, became a standard part of police and also some big differences. education campaigns, but also to fill potholes retail pharmacies—all pointed fingers at each
complicated, most stripped the Sackler name from their build- EMT gear. But deaths and hospitalizations “The ’90s tobacco litigation — and the $250 and build libraries. For opioids, the local gov- other. So this was, and still is, an incredibly
Paul J. Geller 93L challenging, most ings and exhibition spaces. continued. Victims’ families filed suit and billion settlement between tobacco compa- ernments took a much more aggressive and complex constellation of both state and federal
demanding, and Purdue marketed OxyContin as different generally got nowhere. nies and states — was a watershed moment up-front role,” Geller said. lawsuits involving interrelated plaintiffs, inter-
most important case I’ve ever had the privilege from oxycodone drugs because of a 12-hour By 2017, Purdue had acknowledged the after decades of questions about the public Another way the opioid crisis differs is in related defendants and complicated applica-
of handling,” Geller said. “I’m involved in a lot controlled release, which the company potential for addiction: “Patients who take health harms of tobacco and the role of courts how to attack it. tion of RICO and public nuisance laws.”
6 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 7
That’s why the work to certify a negotiat-
ing class was valuable even though the Sixth
DEA and affirmed further questions about
criminal acts involving kickbacks and conspir-
tentatively been reached. CVS and Walgreens
agreed to pay about $5 billion each, which
Honoring retiring Emory Law faculty
Circuit Court of Appeals later rejected it, Geller acy. The plea settlement required the Sacklers will go to states and Native American tribes
said. He was one of the architects of the class, to pay the government $225 million, part of a for abatement efforts. Talks with Walmart
Lifetimes
and says it was essential to determine distri- larger $2 billion criminal forfeiture. The agree- concerning a settlement were also underway,
bution. They consulted with public health ment also included a $3.54 billion criminal Geller said.
economists, local government representatives, fine and a $2.8 billion civil settlement. “The pharmacies are the last patient-
and state attorneys general. But as with the MDL, there were compro- facing link in the opioid supply chain. With
“It was a long and tedious process, and not mises and reversals. According to Reuters, in improved dispensing protocols, they are
everyone was happy,” he said. “Certain states exchange for pleading guilty to three felony uniquely positioned to help reduce opioid
in the
like California believed that population should criminal charges, the $225 million went abuse and to save lives,” Geller said. “Still out
be the most important metric. Other states like toward the $2 billion forfeiture. The Justice there are the third-party payor (TPP) claims
West Virginia recognized that it shouldered Department agreed to forego the rest if the and others. The TPPs are the entities that
a disproportionate burden based on impact company completed a bankruptcy reorgani- foot the bill for the flood of pills, so these are
law
and that population would skew distribution zation to dissolve itself and shift assets to a important claims that still remain in the MDL
in a way it felt was unfair. We had a lot of valid public benefit company to allow the $1.75 bil- against all defendants.”
concerns and opinions to deal with.” lion unpaid portion to go to thousands of US So how valuable is litigation in attacking
In the end, states overwhelmingly opted communities that had sued Purdue. public health issues?
in, to both stop deaths and to save tax dollars. In December 2021, New York US District “Litigation (fortified by the damning dis-
They had to do so without knowing how much Court Judge Colleen McMahon overturned closures uncovered in discovery) can help to
they would receive, but with the understand- US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain’s shape public opinion and, ultimately, stimu-
ing a very structured distribution plan would decision that would have provided lifetime late private, political, and regulatory activ-
be geared toward treatment. Some factors immunity for Sackler family members facing ity,” Engstrom and Rabin say. In the opioid
included population, the rate of opioid abuse civil lawsuits in exchange for dissolving the cases, “litigation has forced the public release
and deaths, and the number of pills that were company and paying $4.5 billion. The agree- of ARCOS data—the confidential database
distributed in the particular city or county. ment would have shielded family members maintained by the DEA that maps where every
Also, the rate of adoption was important. In from third-party claims in the Chapter 11 pill originated and where it was sold.” That
February’s $26 billion settlement, a state got bankruptcy Purdue filed in 2019. Nine state data revealed “that a mind-boggling number
full allocation if all its local governments attorneys general and the District of Columbia of pills was sold from 2006 through 2012 (far A C O MBINE D 231 YE ARS OF
signed on. For example, all 100 North Carolina had strenuously objected to the plan. US more than had been previously estimated). It
Emory Law teaching, mentoring,
counties and 47 municipalities did so, and the Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed with also permits journalists, researchers, health
state received $750 million. McMahon: “The bankruptcy court did not have experts, and the public to measure and map scholarship, and camaraderie
“It was very important to us that the recov- the authority to deprive victims of the opioid the precise roots and contours of the opioid will be recognized this spring as
ery would be used to abate the public health crisis of their right to sue the Sackler family.” epidemic for the first time, while also identify-
crisis. Treatment. Prevention. Education,” In March 2022, at the hearing that allowed ing, with precision, which manufacturers,
some of the law school’s most The professors who have allowed
Geller said. “Local government entities had family members to speak to the Sacklers, a distributors, and retailers shipped the most influential faculty members retire us to highlight them herein,
their budgets ravaged by the crisis. Most new settlement was tentatively approved, pills to the hardest-hit communities.” from teaching. Among them are
heroin addiction is linked to prescription estimated to be worth at least $10 billion over
The school is actively hiring however, have contributed to
opioid addiction. Things like overcrowded time. Members of the Sackler family will con- Sources a former Emory Law dean and a for numerous faculty positions, the expansion of hundreds of
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, by
jails, overcrowded hospitals, overworked first tribute $5.5 to $6 billion over 17 years to fight Patrick Radden Keefe former Emory Law interim dean, including endowed professorships minds, the forging of thousands
responders, insufficient treatment beds and the opioid crisis. Most will be used to fund
programs, impact on foster care, increase in efforts going forward, but $750 million would
“Pursuing Public Health Through Litigation: Lessons from
Tobacco and Opioids,” 73 Stanford Law Review 285 (2021) Nora
teaching award winners, former as the law school approaches of relationships, and the growth
homelessness all track to this epidemic. So, go directly to victims or their survivors. It pro-
Freeman Engstrom and Robert L. Rabin
NITA directors, and a journal this faculty transition with the and flourishing of this leading
“Companies Finalize $26 Billion Deal with States and Cities
money is needed and needed now.” vides over $150 million for Native American editor. They share a common
tribes and another $100 million for children
to End Opioid Lawsuits,” by Jan Hoffman (New York Times) strategic priorities in mind. national law school. Their
Criminal charges in federal court born in opioid withdrawal.
“Sacklers to Exit from Complex Purdue Bankruptcy with
Billions,” by Jeremy Hill, Sophie Alexander, Jef Feeley, and
thread of dedication to advancing Dean Mary Anne Bobinski has contributions will inspire current
In November 2020, Purdue Chair of the Board Riley Griffin (Bloomberg) the rule of law. outlined a hiring process that and future Emory Law faculty
Steve Miller appeared before US District Judge What’s ahead “After Years of Pain, Opioid Crisis Victims Confront Sackler
Madeline Cox Arleo in New Jersey and pled While checks have begun to flow to local gov- Family in Court,” Geoff Mulvihill and Jennifer Peltz recruits faculty with scholarly members in the decades ahead.
(Associated Press)
guilty to three criminal charges on the com- ernments and massive settlements continue, impact from eminent institutions
pany’s behalf. lots of work remains, Geller said. In early
around the globe and at all levels
Miller admitted Purdue had knowingly November, Reuters reported the first nation-
and intentionally conspired to defraud the wide settlement with retail pharmacies had of their academic careers.
8 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 9
“To [discuss my best memories here] would States law at the University of Konstanz Law As interim dean of Emory Law from September and staff is far more inclusive. One might say,
require more words than could be possibly School in Germany, at the Central European 2017 through July 2019, Hughes ushered the if in 1992 I arrived at Emory Law 1.0, today it is
included in my story yet would surely be University in Budapest, Hungary, and at the law school through a time of great transition, Emory Law 5.0.”
woefully incomplete. Over the course of four European Business School in Germany. He has bridging the gap between the tenure of Deans Hughes was selected as the Most
decades, I have countless ‘best memories’ of lectured at various universities, including the Robert Schapiro and Mary Anne Bobinski. He Outstanding Professor by the Emory Student
Emory colleagues (both faculty and staff) at the University of Heidelberg and the University of stepped into the role with the calm-headedness Bar Association (2002) and as Professor of the
law school and the university, as well as with our Paris, Pantheon Sorbonne. and aplomb that are among his hallmark per- Year by the Black Law Students Association
students and alums.” Before joining the Emory faculty, Cloud sonality traits. (2005). In addition to serving as associate dean
For thirty-nine years, Morgan Cloud has was a trial lawyer and litigator in Florida and A thirty-year member of the faculty, Hughes for academic affairs at the school (2002–2006
taught and written about privacy law, consti- California, litigating cases throughout the has seen more than most and really experi- and 2014–2017), Hughes served as vice dean of
tutional criminal procedure, white collar crime, United States. He served as a program director enced the transformation of the law school, Emory Law from 2006 through 2011. His exten-
criminal law, and constitutional theory at Emory for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy through recessions and boons, trying and unify- sive service to the Emory community includes
Law. for more than twenty years and has lectured ing times. He reflects, “The changes to the law serving in the University Senate, University
His numerous scholarly articles have to practicing attorneys around the country school over the past thirty years are monumen- Faculty Council, and numerous law school and
been published in leading journals, including about ethics, trial practice, civil litigation, and tal. The law school’s national and international university committees.
the Stanford Law Review, the University of evidence. He has served as chairperson of profiles have increased dramatically, along Regarding his impact, he says, “I would
Morgan Cloud Chicago Law Review, the Southern California the Section on Litigation of the Association of
James A. Hughes with its reputation. The range and depth of our not be so presumptuous as to assume that I
Charles Howard Candler Law Review, and the UCLA Law Review. Cloud American Law Schools. He serves on the advi- Associate Professor of Law curriculum has broadened to provide a much would have a lasting impact on the institution.
has been a distinguished visiting professor at sory board of the Green Bag, a journal devoted richer experience for our students, and it better However, I would hope that I have inspired and
Professor of Law universities in the United States and Europe. to legal history and legal policy issues. prepares them for contemporary law prac- had a positive impact on my students, that I
In Europe he has been a German Marshall “In some ways we accomplished more than tice. Importantly, the law school is much more have been a good colleague to my friends on
Fund distinguished guest lecturer and has I ever imagined possible when my family joined diverse in every way. The breadth of scholarly the faculty and staff, and that I have brought
taught courses on Corporate Crime in a Global the Emory community; in others — not even inquiry has expanded dramatically with the commitment and integrity to all of my work
Economy, constitutional theory, and United close.” addition of many exceptional faculty. The racial, on the law school’s behalf.”
ethnic, and gender makeup of faculty, students,
A. James Elliott practiced law in Atlanta with In 2017, Elliott was honored by the David F. Partlett’s sixteen-year career at Partlett says he came to Emory to make
the firm of Alston & Bird for twenty-eight Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Emory (including a stint as dean from 2006 to a highly reputed school even better. He had
years prior to returning to Emory. He is a past Profession of the State Bar of Georgia with the 2011) followed an extensive career in his home been at other law schools in the United States
president of the State Bar of Georgia and of its Randolph Thrower Lifetime Achievement Award. country of Australia. that had thrived in large part because of their
Young Lawyers Division. He has served on sev- The Randolph Thrower Award recognizes an “After my time at UVA I returned with [my superlative student/faculty relations and had
eral Supreme Court commissions dealing with outstanding individual who has dedicated his or wife] Nan to Australia. I wanted to do work at learned that student experience needed to be
professionalism and lawyer discipline. Professor her career to providing opportunities that foster the Australian Attorney-General’s Department taken seriously. At Emory he found a similar
Elliott is a co-founder of Georgia’s legal services a more diverse legal profession for members of on legislation being developed in the Human dedication to classroom teaching, but students
program, which has provided legal services underrepresented groups in Georgia. Robert Rights Section on Racial Discrimination and did not feel as tightly knitted to the mission
to almost one million poor Georgians, and of Schapiro, former dean, said of Elliott, “Jim has Human Rights. While doing that work the dean of the school and became disconnected from
Georgia’s mandatory IOLTA program, which has long been a leader in promoting diversity and of the Australian National University (ANU) the institution upon graduation. “I think we
raised $100,000,000 for legal charities. inclusion. Through his commitment to this vital called me to teach Torts on an adjunct basis. improved student engagement during my time,”
He is a fellow of the American College of goal, as well as through his lifelong dedication Much of tort law was about to disappear with he says. “We set a continuing structure that
Real Estate Lawyers, as well as the American to providing access to justice, he represents the the introduction of a compensation scheme for valued alumni’s voices. During my time we were
and Georgia Bar Foundations. In 2012 Professor highest ideals of the legal profession.” personal injuries. Someone had to teach the able to recruit outstanding faculty and retain
Elliott received the University’s Emory Williams dying area. I found that I loved my teaching and many who shared the vision of Emory.”
A. James Elliott 66L Distinguished Teaching Award.
David F. Partlett my interaction with my students. When I had The law school became more comfortable
Professor of Practice Asa Griggs Candler completed my work at the attorney general’s as a unit of the wider university, he says. “The
and at the Australian Law Reform Commission, Great Recession was not a friend to ambitious
Professor of Law where I led a research team, I was keen to com- plans, but I think we built those pillars deep.
bine my research and writing with teaching. The I’m eternally grateful that I had such a fulfilling
life of the mind has a great allure. I was lucky to career.”
be invited back to take a faculty position at the
ANU. Hence my 44-year career commenced.”
10 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 11
While an undergraduate at Georgetown “Happily, I’ve been able to achieve all that Paul J. Zwier II is one of the nation’s most and professionally. He says fellow Woodruff
University (1964 –1968), Michael Perry decided I hoped to achieve when, in the summer of distinguished professors of advocacy and skills Professor Martha Albertson Fineman “toler-
to attend law school. It was a time of civil rights 2003, I became a member of the law faculty training. His decision to study law was “part ated my questions and misunderstandings
marches and demonstrations. He wanted to at Emory University,” Perry says. “As a Robert calling and part practicality.” He was a history about vulnerability theory, which I still find
become a civiI rights lawyer. W. Woodruff Professor of Law, I’ve been and philosophy major at a small religious col- provide some of the most important insights
While a law student at Columbia University able to devote a major part of my time to my lege in Michigan where he was advised to read to my work, whether in dispute resolution, and
during the early 1970s, he decided to become scholarship; I’ve also been able to teach the Gideon’s Trumpet and To Kill a Mockingbird, in my rule of law work.” Then Dean Thomas
a law professor. He had come to understand courses that complemented my scholarship. In and found the lawyers in these stories used Arthur, Morgan Cloud, John Witte, along with
that a career as a law professor — rather than my twenty years at Emory Law, I’ve written six knowledge and skill to make a real difference. members of his hiring committee encouraged
as a practicing lawyer — would give him the books, the final of which — titled Interrogating Zwier is the former director of public educa- him to develop new areas of emphasis and
opportunity to delve much more deeply into the Morality of Human Rights — is scheduled to tion for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy scholarship during his first years. Professors
the issues and controversies that greatly inter- be published in the summer of 2023.” (NITA) and has taught and designed public Frank Alexander and Hal Berman offered
ested him. A recent issue of Emory Law Journal was and in-house skills programs in trial advocacy, warm welcomes. Professors Broyde, van der
Perry, who was born and raised in Louisville, dedicated to Perry as a festschrift publication. appellate advocacy, advocacy in mediation, Vyver, and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im pro-
Kentucky, received his AB from Georgetown In the foreword to this publication, Professor motion practice, negotiations, legal strategy, vided inspiration for new collaborations. And
University (1968) and his JD from Columbia John Witte wrote about Perry’s “characteristic e-discovery, supervisory and leadership skills, David F. Partlett “has been a special colleague
Michael J. Perry University (1973). After graduating from law empathy for the needs and suffering of others Paul J. Zwier II and expert testimony at deposition and trial for and friend who has shared drafts, coauthored
Robert W. Woodruff school, Perry served as a law clerk, first, to US
District Judge Jack B. Weinstein (1973 –1974)
and his generous charity” as well as his “insis-
tence on doing the big things in life alongside
Professor of Law more than 20 years. Zwier has taught advocacy articles, and taught me much, especially in the
skills to international lawyers and judges around areas of remedies, law and religion, and torts.
Professor of Law and, a year later, to US Circuit Judge Shirley his beloved wife Sarah.” the world, and, in 1998, Zwier received NITA’s We have also fervently discussed the issues of
M. Hufstedler (1974 –1975). Prentice Marshall Award. rule of law and international politics, grand-
He says that over his nearly 20 years at children, and travel, often well into the night. I
Emory, he was continually amazed at the com- have shared good conversation and wine with
mitment, passion, and enthusiasm of its law he and his wife Nan from France to Poland, to
students. He also built relationships with several Atlanta, and back.”
colleagues that have affected him personally
“My experience on debate teams in high school Institute of Judicial Administration. In addition
and college made me realize that issues of to presenting programs around the country to
public policy were of particular interest to law firms and bar associations, he is the primary
me. Law school seemed the most direct — and consultant on legal writing to the international
intense — route for continuing and expanding association of law firms called Lex Mundi and
that ambition.” has conducted programs at its member firms
Timothy P. Terrell has three distinct areas of around the world. He is the coauthor of a
teaching and scholarly reputation: legal writing, popular text on legal writing, entitled Thinking
legal ethics, and legal theory. He has published Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective
extensively on all these topics, and frequently Writing and Editing (3d ed., 2008, Practicing
conducts continuing legal education programs Law Institute).
on them as well. Concerning legal writing in “I have been deeply gratified by the positive
particular, he is, among law faculty nationwide, feedback I have received from judges, lawyers,
the leading presenter of programs for practicing and law students concerning the substance and
lawyers and judges, not just in the United States, structure of the legal writing training I have
but around the world. He has consulted often for provided — not only in the US, but in many
Timothy P. Terrell law firms on issues of legal ethics and has served other countries as well,” he recalls. “Introducing
Professor of Law on numerous occasions as an expert witness audiences to the deeper concepts of excellent
in litigation involving issues such as conflicts of writing feedback has been the unusual hallmark
interest, confidentiality, and lawyer malpractice. of my presentations.”
Regarding legal writing, Terrell has for And he’s still going. He has one scholarly
more than a decade conducted the writing project that he hopes to continue to develop
and editing portion of the training program after retirement: a book on the structure under-
for new appellate judges at NYU Law School’s lying philosophical reasoning.
12 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 13
From Matlock to the Suits
The evolution of career advising
B Y N ATA S H A PAT E L , A S S I S TA N T D E A N F O R C A R E E R D E V E L O P M E N T
AS I REFLECT ON the employment achieve- careers. We help students meet both short- say to a student “we’ve been there,” we are Exceptions can be the norm in a learning, aca- advocates for their clients. They are required at-graduation employment rate and the bar
ments for the Class of 2021, the highest in ten term and long-term career goals, because most honest. None of us had known a legal profes- demic environment, but exceptions encounter to distinguish their talents and experiences required or JD preferred jobs our students
years at Emory Law, I consider the significant will hold several jobs during their professional sional until law school and yet our experiences tough obstacles in practice. Every student at to compete. We assist students through our secured was at a ten-year high. Our students
role that career departments in law schools lives. are quite different. I learned about lawyering Emory Law is the shining example in their tailored, individual advising approach and by are doing well. Emory Law is the largest law
now play in the tra- This is unlike the law school experience a from Matlock. The current students learned communities; each deservingly special. And engaging with employers to demonstrate how school in the southeast, and our students
jectory of a student’s generation ago (GenX, in my case) in which from Suits. Matlock, a diligent, slow-paced, are succeeding across the country. Legal
legal career. From a career office had one person who made thoughtful show, wended its way to resolution. careers, like many other professional ones,
the 1L Career Strategy sure certain job and internship resources Suits is exciting, dynamic, fashionable, and may meander, bend, curve, twist, and zigzag
and Design Class, the were readily available in alphabetically kept clever, with multiple, fast-paced resolutions. My entire team comprises first-generation lawyers along a paved, crooked, or cracked path. One
one-on-one advisor binders, while offering a compassionate ear My classmates wallpapered bathrooms thing I know for sure is that careers are long.
meetings, optimiza- to anyone who desired it. The paradox of the with the rejections that trickled in through or business professionals. When we say to a student Ultimately career satisfaction is rooted in sus-
tion of the recruiting information age is that it necessitates the abil- snail mail. Today, a student logs on at 5:01 p.m. tainability. Our students are most successful
cycles, review of ity to review and synthesize the myriad of ever- to view fifty accepts or declines — or a combina- “we’ve been there,” we are honest. when they embrace becoming long-term con-
individual job appli- changing legal market information to make it tion therein — from an employer. Immediate tributing members to this noble profession.
Natasha Patel
cations, financial palatable and relatable to the recipient. For a and harsh. The legal profession, at its heart, is a ser-
and salary counsel- law student, that is the career and professional We’re the bridge between the profes- now that community is the larger legal profes- every student with an Emory Law degree is vice one. The work our office does is to make
ing, and navigating offers and rejections, our development office. sional reality that the students face and the sion. As the community gets larger, the stu- worthy of a job. sure students are primed for their roles in
career development office partners with every My entire team comprises first-generation secluded law school environment. A professor dents are called upon to advocate more deter- This past year, employer recruitment this profession — and positioned for long-term
law student to launch them into their legal lawyers or business professionals. When we is more willing to alter deadlines than a judge. minedly for themselves, all while becoming increased by twenty percent, and both our success.
14 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 15
Eye on Ajunwa to join Emory Law as part of university’s
innovation AI.Humanity Initiative
B Y A . K E N YAT TA G R E E R
“I’m thrilled to be joining forthcoming book, The Quantified Worker, with
Emory Law,” says Ajunwa. “The Cambridge University Press. This book will
Emory Law faculty is such a examine the role of technology in the work-
Morris named director of new legal tech initiative deeply vibrant and welcoming
intellectual community. I am hon-
place and its effects on management practices
as moderated by employment law. Along with
B Y A . K E N YAT TA G R E E R ored to join such a world-class Dr. Jeremias Adams-Prasl of Oxford Law, she is
faculty in a world-class city.” also editing a forthcoming Oxford Handbook
delighted that Professor Morris Center. She was among a list of just 17 women “Dr. Ajunwa is a noted scholar on algorithmic governance and the law.
has agreed to lead the effort to across the country. The ABA Legal Technology and teacher whose insights about Ajunwa is also an engaged public intel-
expand Emory Law’s focus on Resource Center’s Women of Legal Tech initia- the challenges and opportunities lectual with an extensive list of bylines. She is
innovation and legal technology. tive is intended to encourage diversity and associated with AI and the law a columnist at Forbes and has published op-eds
have been recognized by scholars, in the New York Times, Nature, Washington
lawyers, corporate leaders, and Post, Slate and The Atlantic, among others. Her
“THIS NEW INITIATIVE WILL DEEPEN EMORY policymakers,” says Dean Mary research and legal commentary have been fea-
Anne Bobinski. “Dr. Ajunwa’s tured by media outlets such as NPR, the Wall
LAW’S CURRICULAR STRENGTH IN BRINGING focus on AI will complement the Street Journal, CNN, the Guardian, and the BBC.
TOGETHER LAW AND TECH.” — Nicole Morris work of other nationally and She testified before the US House
globally prominent Emory Law Committee on Education and Labor in 2020,
faculty members who focus on AI, and has also spoken before the Consumer
Preparing students for changes celebrate women in legal technology. This ini- IP and innovation, corporate law, Financial Protection Bureau and the Equal
in the legal profession has always tiative launched in 2015 with a list of innova- health, and civil rights and social Employment Opportunity Commission. A DEI
been a priority for Emory Law tors and leaders in legal technology and with justice.” expert, Ajunwa has consulted with Fortune 500
and is an important part of our this year’s additions, that list now includes 149 A prolific legal scholar and corporations on ethical issues associated with
strategic plan. Professor Morris talented and influential women leaders. Ifeoma Ajunwa, JD, PhD, will join the Emory sociologist, Ajunwa has won academic awards tech and has served as advisory board member
has both the expertise and the Prior to joining the Emory faculty, Morris University School of Law faculty in the fall including the Fulbright Scholar Award for tech companies in Silicon Valley.
experience to develop program- was the managing patent counsel at The Coca- of 2023, strengthening the school’s offerings
Professor Nicole Morris has agreed to serve ming that teaches students how innovation Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia. While at in AI and employment law. As AI.Humanity
as the inaugural director of the Innovation and technology are employed in the modern The Coca-Cola Company, she was responsible Professor of Law and Ethics, she will be part of
for the development and implementation
“DR. AJUNWA IS A NOTED SCHOLAR AND TEACHER
and Legal Tech Initiative (ILTI). In this role, legal market.” the university’s interdisciplinary AI.Humanity
she will lead Emory Law’s efforts to address Morris’s areas of expertise include patent of the company’s global patent strategy and Initiative and become the founding director WHOSE INSIGHTS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED BY
the implications of advances in legal tech law, patent litigation, patent prosecution, providing day-to-day advice and counseling to of a program dedicated to AI and the Law.
for faculty and for students preparing for the IP licensing, and strategy. She is direc- business stakeholders. Ajunwa will also take up an academic leader-
SCHOLARS, LAWYERS, CORPORATE LEADERS, AND
future of legal practice in the JD program. She tor of the TI:GER Program (Technological Morris has almost twenty years of expe- ship role at the law school starting in Spring POLICYMAKERS.” — Mary Anne Bobinski, Dean
may also develop programming for students Innovation: Generating Economic rience practicing patent law in large and 2024.
enrolled in the law school’s other graduate- Results). The TI:GER program has evolved mid-sized law firms. Morris also worked as An award-winning multidisciplinary
level programs and/or the executive education over the years to include the annual TI:GER an engineer for six years with 3M and Eli Lilly scholar of artificial intelligence, law, and (2021 – 2022), NSF CAREER Award (2019), and During a lecture at Emory University this
program. Innovation Conference which draws and has thirty years of experience working ethics, Ajunwa was recruited from the the Derrick A. Bell Jr. Award (2018) from the spring, Ajunwa said, “Emory holds the reputa-
Morris will work with the administration renowned scholars in the tech realm to Emory with consumer products and technology University of North Carolina School of Law, Association of American Law Schools. tion for being one of the oldest private institu-
to develop a plan of activities that may include Law to discuss various aspects of innova- commercialization. where she served as the founding director of Her broad list of academic publications tions in the United States with a commitment
the creation of new courses, the modification tion. The law school ended its joint academic She says, “I am thrilled to lead this inaugu- the AI Decision-Making Research Program. includes the California Law Review, Cardozo Law to justice and inclusion. I see the AI.Humanity
of existing courses to address changes in legal instruction with Georgia Tech in May 2022, and ral innovation initiative. I am very committed Her scholarship and teaching focus on the Review, Fordham Law Review, and Northwestern Initiative as necessary work for upholding
practice, and the development of modules, the Emory Law TI:GER program will continue to training future lawyers to use technology to intersection of law and technology with an Law Review, as well as top law journals for those principles amid the expansion of artifi-
workshops, or programs designed to ensure with external partners such as the National make an impact on the profession. This new emphasis on the ethical governance of work- specialty areas including the top journal in cial intelligence.”
that Emory Law students and graduates are Nuclear Security Administration within the initiative will deepen Emory Law’s curricular place technologies. law and technology (the Harvard Journal of
prepared for changes in legal practice associ- Department of Energy. strength in bringing together law and tech. In In April 2022, Ajunwa visited campus as Law and Technology), antidiscrimination law
ated with advances in legal technology. In 2022, Morris was named one of one to three years, I want to collaborate with part of the AI.Humanity Ethics Lecture series, (Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review),
Joanna Shepherd, vice dean of Emory the Women of Legal Tech by the American legal tech startups and have Emory Law stu- delivering a lecture titled “The Unrealized and employment and labor law (Berkeley
Law, says of Morris’s appointment: “We are Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource dents using their tech tools to assist clients.” Promise of Artificial Intelligence.” Journal of Employment and Labor Law). She has a
16 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 17class notes
FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT
An effect you can see
76
Philip Reese 66C 76B
76L was recently elected
89
Alan Clarke 89L 89T
recently joined
97
5 Laurent Badoux 97L,
a shareholder at Buchalter
05
Nova D. Harb 05L has
joined Bass, Berry & Sims
10
Rhani Lott Choi 10L
has joined the National
to the National Council Greenspoon Marder’s in Scottsdale, was as counsel in its Nashville Institute for Trial Advocacy
of the White House Entertainment, Media, included on AZBigMedia’s office, part of the firm’s as education director, a
People sometimes ask why I spend my time and money Historical Association in
Washington, DC, and
and Technology Group in
Atlanta. He was recently
list of most admired
Arizona business leaders
launch of an Investment
Funds Practice.
newly created leadership
position, effective June
1 6
re-elected to the board of “Top Rated” by Georgia for 2022. 1, 2022.
supporting Emory Law. I rarely have time to explain all of the Philadelphia’s Museum of Super Lawyers and was Chad F. Slieper 05L,
the American Revolution, among Georgia Trend’s Shawn A. Kachmar 97L, director of the Law, Ricardo Duarte 10L of
reasons because there are many. where he was a founding
director.
2021 “Legal Elite” for
entertainment and sports.
a partner with
HunterMaclean’s
Science, and Technology
program at Georgia
The Duarte Firm in Tampa
has been recognized as
employment practice Tech’s Ivan Allen College Rising Star in Business
80 90
group in Savannah, was of Liberal Arts School of Litigation by Florida Super
For one, I am incredibly grateful for the scholarship I received that allowed me to graduate from ranked in Chambers Public Policy received Lawyers Magazine each
USA 2022 for litigation: an Academic Faculty year since 2016.
law school with a manageable amount of debt. Providing other aspiring lawyers with that same general commercial. He Distinguished Teaching
1 Glenn Taubman 80L Cheryl Shaw 84C 90L is
opportunity is my way of paying it forward. If you benefitted from a scholarship to Emory Law is celebrating 40 years of a new partner at Parker was also named a 2022 Award. Daniel Eric Shulak
(and even if you didn’t), I hope you will consider giving back. working at the National Poe, part of the expansion Georgia Super Lawyer for 04C 10L, an antitrust
07
2 Right to Work Legal of its Atlanta office’s employment litigation. litigator, was promoted to 7
In addition, we live in a country and a world where the rule of law is sometimes taken for counsel at Hogan Lovells
Defense Foundation in education practice.
granted. We need lawyers who are well-trained not only in the basic subjects taught in all law Springfield, Virginia. William Piercy 97L of in Washington, DC, in
91
schools (contracts, torts, etc.), but who also have an appreciation for Berman Fink Van Horn 7 As of July 1, Noah January 2022.
2 Leah Ward Sears 80L represented the Atlanta- S. Robbins 07L is a new
11
the critical role lawyers play in a society that depends on the rule of law. based Love Renaissance
was voted the best partner at Ballard Spahr
Emory Law provides more than just an opportunity to learn the law — it mediator/arbitrator by Sarah H. Lamar 91L,
record label and its in Philadelphia, where he
also provides incredible opportunities for students to learn skills that lawyers and law firm founders in a business focuses on intellectual
a partner with
administrators who read divorce case covered by property disputes and Ryan M. Richards 11L
will position them to be leaders in their firms, in their companies, the Daily Report. Also,
HunterMaclean’s
Rolling Stone and others. counseling. has been named a
employment practice
and in their communities as they proceed in their careers. By way of her firm, Alterity ADR, an group in Savannah, was
Read more about the shareholder in Baker
08
five-day trial at the firm’s
example, our dean, Mary Anne Bobinski, is co-teaching a seminar on Atlanta-based alternative ranked in Chambers Donelson’s Nashville
3 dispute resolution firm, blog. office. 8
Leadership for Lawyers this coming semester. In this class, students USA 2022 for labor and
was named “best of” in employment. She was
will hear directly from leaders in the legal field, business world, and its category. also named a 2022 Kevin J. Rubin 08L has Katherine Silverman 11L
6 Kimberli C. Withrow
nonprofit and government positions about the fundamental principles Georgia Super Lawyer for formed Rubin Family Law, of Berman Fink Van Horn
82
97L, a partner at Atlanta’s represented the Atlanta-
of leadership and develop leadership competencies relevant to lawyers employment and labor a boutique firm in the
Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle based Love Renaissance
law. Cumberland (Atlanta) area
and law students. & Roddenbery, has been
that focuses on all aspects record label and its
recognized as a 2022 founders in a business
Engaging with law students is also incredibly rewarding. Having coffee, lunch or even just a Lynn Greenky 82L’s book, Diane Melnick 91L is
Georgia Super Lawyer for
of family law.
When Freedom Speaks: a partner in Practus’s divorce case covered by
Zoom meeting with a law student to talk about career opportunities is something I thoroughly
09
family law for the seventh Rolling Stone and others.
The Boundaries and the Intellectual Property
enjoy. If you have not taken the opportunity to connect with Emory Law students, please make Boundlessness of our Group. She is based in
consecutive year. Read more about the five-
day trial at the firm’s blog.
99
an effort to do so. You can reach out to me or to the law school staff for ways to connect. I am First Amendment Right New York City.
4 was published in May by 9
confident you will find the experience personally rewarding — and you may even learn something 8 Ashley Edwards
92
Brandeis University Press. 9 Daniel Soleimani 11L
09L, a partner with Parker
yourself. Poe, is a member of
has joined Butzel as a
84
Chad I. Michaelson 99L shareholder in the firm’s
We are also at a key juncture in the history of the law school, with many long-time faculty the Charlotte Business
has been named a Troy, Michigan, office.
retiring or approaching retirement. As we celebrate the contributions these professors have 4 Brian T. Casey 92L Journal’s 2022 class of the
Pennsylvania Super
12
received the Innovator top 40 business leaders
made to Emory Law, we have a tremendous opportunity to support the law school in its efforts to Michael Kenny 84L, a Award from Georgia
Lawyer for business
under 40.
litigation.
identify, recruit, and hire the high-quality faculty for which Emory Law is known. We are grateful retired partner at Alston State University’s Risk
00
for the financial and logistical support the University is providing. It would be wonderful to & Bird in Atlanta, has Management Foundation James Janaitis 09L,
published his debut novel, at the Eighth Annual an aviation attorney, Michael “Mike”
show the University that the Emory Law alumni appreciate their support by increasing our sup- Life’s Illusions. Risk Science & Insurance joined Baker Donelson’s Baranovic Jr. 13L is one
port, as well. Leadership Awards. Corporate Group as a of 24 new partners at
87
5 Joel Nichols 00L 00T shareholder in the firm’s Sheppard, Mullin, Richter 10
There are so many exciting opportunities to get involved and give back to Emory Law. I hope
95
is interim dean at Washington, DC, office. & Hampton. He’s based in
you will consider joining me in doing so. the University of St. Washington, DC.
Thomas Law School in Deborah B. Koslin 09L
13
3 Richard Litwin 87L
Minneapolis, where he was promoted to partner
of Litwin Law in Atlanta Lisa Gruber 95L is vice
has served as associate at Levine Smith Snider &
was one of 13 attorneys president, tax, at Amgen,
dean since 2013. Wilson. She was named
elected to the American after serving as Hasbro’s
College of Tax Counsel senior vice president, Atlanta’s 2022 “Lawyer of 10 Bradley M. Strickland
by the College’s Board of corporate tax, for the past the Year” for family law 13L, an associate with
Regents in 2022. five years. arbitration. Kramon & Graham, has
been selected as a
Benjamin I. Fink 92L is a shareholder at Berman Fink Van Horn in Atlanta. member of Business
Volunteers Maryland’s
GIVE Fellowship Class of
2022.
18 EMORY LAWYER WINTER 2023 WINTER 2023 EMORY LAWYER 19You can also read
