— by William Tomlin. William is a third year student at the University of Georgia School Law interested in pursuing a career in public interest law. He is a graduate of Emory University, where he earned a bachelors degree in Enivronmental Studies.
Discussions examining pressing economic issues, such as the impact of the student debt burden on the economy and the fallout from budget cuts on the prosecution of domestic violence, and noted speakers, including Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Supreme Court of Georgia and attorney Jan Schlichtmann will take center stage at the 7th Annual Working in the Public Interest Conference at the University of Georgia School of Law on Friday, March 2nd through Saturday, March 3rd in Athens, Georgia.
WIPI is an entirely student-run conference, considering the broad scope of public interest law that seeks to bring together both practitioners and students to discuss real issues confronting attorneys and others working in the public interest.
The conference kicks off on Friday, March 2nd at 6:30 p.m. at the Melting Point in Athens, Georgia with an auction to raise money for students pursuing unpaid public interest work and the Keynote Address from Jan Schlichtmann. Mr. Schlichtmann became famous in the 1980s with his lawsuit alleging that chemicals from W. R. Grace and Beatrice Co. contaminated drinking water in Woburn, Massachusetts. The case served as the basis for the book and movie “A Civil Action.” Mr. Schlichtmann also founded the Civil Action Center and the Legal Broadcast Network.
The conference shifts into high gear on Saturday, March 3rd at the University of Georgia School of Law with a broad array of panels on topics as diverse as the ethics and sustainability of concentrated animal feeding operations and alumni perspectives on alternative legal careers. Philip Horton, Pro Bono Chair at Arnold & Porter and lead counsel for Troy Davis’s final rounds of appeal, will reexamine the constitutionality of the death penalty. Other panelists include Chief Justice Carol Hunstein of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Joyce Tischler, co-founder of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Thomas Rawlings, Guatemala Field Office Director for the International Justice Mission, and Susan Cartier Liebel, founder and CEO of Solo Practice University.
For a complete schedule, please visit: www.law.uga.edu/wipi.
The cost to register for attorneys is $30. The CLE carries 5.5 credits, pending approval. WIPI is preceded by the Journal of Intellectual Property Law’s “Back to the Future: IP Law in the Next Decade” Conference on Friday, March 2nd (http://law.uga.edu/events/10794).
To register for WIPI, please visit: www.law.uga.edu/wipi. If you have any questions, please contact William Tomlin at wtomlin@uga.edu.
Lawscape 