MERCER UNIVERSITY
WALTER F.GEORGE SCHOOL OF LAW
1021 GEORGIA AVE.
MACON, GEORGIA 31201
Telephone:
(478) 301-2602
URL:
http://www.law.mercer.edu
ABA Approved Since 1925
Founded in
1873, the Mercer University School of Law is one of the older law schools in
the nation. It became a member of the Association of American Law Schools in
1923 and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1925.
Atlanta philanthropist George W. Woodruffâ??s
1987 bequest of $15 million spurred a remarkable growth in Mercerâ??s Law School
endowment. This endowment, now valued at more than $75 million, is one of the
largest law school endowments in the nation. With the support of the Woodruff
bequest, the Law Schoolâ??s curriculum was totally
redesigned in the late 1980â??s. The student body was decreased to approximately
400 students. There are 32 full-time faculty members and 25 adjunct faculty.
The
Woodruff Curriculum focuses on the professional skills that students will need
in practice. This curriculum contains an intensive three-year legal writing
program, structured courses requiring students to progress from introductory to
advanced work in particular areas of the law, and a final semester of law
school in which students choose from various 9 pre-practice 9 elective courses
taught by both full-time faculty and adjunct practitioners. Legal writing
courses are required in four of the six semesters, and popular research and
writing electives are offered in the other two semesters. Since 2004, each
student has taken a required first-year course in professionalism and ethics in
addition to the advanced course in professional responsibility.
The unique
course was honored recently by the ABA Commission on Professionalism and the National
Conference of Chief Justices, when a Mercer faculty member received the
National Award for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching Professionalism.
Students start each of their three years at Mercer with an intensive one-week
course. The first-year class takes Introduction to Law, which introduces
students to the American legal system and law school. The second-year class
learns about, and participates in exercises concerning, interviewing and
counseling, while the first week of a studentâ??s third year is spent in an
intensive one-week course involving alternative dispute resolution.
Mercerâ??s
curriculum has received attention both within legal education and within the
profession. Because of the focus of Mercerâ??s curriculum on professionalism, the
American Bar Association awarded Mercer the Gambrell Professionalism Award in
1996. U.S. News and World Report has ranked Mercerâ??s
Legal Writing Program as first in the Nation in three of the last four years.
Mercer
began a comprehensive Law and Public Service Program in Fall
2006, devoting two faculty members to developing clinical programs, the Public
Interest Practicum Program, and pro bono opportunities. Mercer offers
scholarships, summer stipends, and a loan repayment assistance program for
students committed to public service. In 2008, The National Jurist included
Mercer as among the top 50 schools on a list entitled 9 Where
Public Interest Lawyers Go to LawSchool. 9
Mercer
currently ranks eleventh in the country on The National Juristâ??s 9
Technology Honor Roll. 9 Each student receives a notebook computer upon
entering Mercer and technology is incorporated in every aspect of the law
school experience.
The
Mercer Law Review publishes
four issues per year. The Review sponsors an annual symposium, which
brings leading scholars and practitioners to Mercer to address a timely issue
of legal significance. Various other student organizations and activities are
offered.
Mercerâ??s
Furman Smith Law Library contains more than 310,000 volumes dealing with
domestic and international law, including 3300 serial titles and a growing
number of electronic titles. The law library and its computer lab have 60
workstations and numerous network connections for laptops, providing access to
computer exercises, interactive trial practice materials, legal research
databases, word processing, and the internet. Professional librarians teach and
provide research assistance throughout the week, and law students have 24-hour
access to the library and lab.
Since
1985, the NationalCriminal DefenseCollege has been located
at Mercer. The dean of the college is also a full-time professor and Director
of Trial Practice at the LawSchool. The College
brings to Mercer criminal defense attorneys from across the country to
participate in intensive trial skills workshops conducted by the College.
Mercerâ??s
Office of Career Services assists students in legal placement. The Office of
Career Services participates in annual hiring consortia, sponsors workshops for
students, and brings lawyers and judges to Mercer to interview current
students. Most Mercer graduates accept employment in the Southeast, although
one in five graduates practice in other areas of the United States. Upon their
graduation from Mercer, graduates accept federal and state judicial clerkships,
positions with large, medium-sized, and small private law firms, work for
federal, state, and local governments, become prosecutors and criminal defense
attorneys, and accept positions in legal aid and public interest organizations.
Mercer
graduates value and actively participate in public service. Mercer alumni have
served as Attorney General of the United States,
federal and state judges, presidents of state and local bar associations, and
as president of such organizations as the American College
of Trial Lawyers.
Dean:
Daisy H. Floyd (478)
301-2602
Associate
Dean: Stephen M.
Johnson (478) 301-2192
Dean
for Student Affairs: Mary
Donovan (478) 301-2586
Dean
of Admissions: Marilyn
Sutton (478) 301-2429
Director
of Library: Suzanne
Cassidy (478) 301-2665
Placement:
Hope Martin (478)
301-5014
Alumni
Affairs: (478)
301-5648
Registrar:
Patsy Crammer (478)
301-2621
FULL
TIME FACULTY
DAISY
HURST FLOYD, (Law Professor), born Atlanta, Georgia, July 9, 1956; admitted to
bar, 1980, Georgia; 1990, Texas. Education: Randolph-Macon Womanâ??s
College; Emory University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1977; MA); University of
Georgia (J.D., cum laude, 1980). COURSES: Legal Writing, Legal
Research/Legal Ethics, Evidence, Civil Procedure. Email: floyd_dh @
law.mercer.edu
ANTHONY
R. BALDWIN, (Law Professor), born May 22, 1947; Education: Boston
University (B.A., 1968); Harvard Law School
(J.D., 1973). COURSES: Arbitration, Labor Law, Civil Procedure,
Constitutional Law, Employment Discrimination. Email: baldwin_ar @
law.mercer.edu
LINDA
L. BERGER, (Law Professor), born Akron, Colorado, November 15, 1948; admitted to bar, 1985,
California. Education: University
of Colorado, Boulder
(B.S., 1970); CaseWestern Reserve University
(J.D., 1985). COURSES: Legal Writing, Law and Rhetoric, Media Law, First
Amendment. Email: berger_ll @ law.mercer.com
THEODORE
Y. BLUMOFF, (Law Professor), born St. Louis, Missouri, January 27, 1947; admitted to bar, 1982,
Missouri. Education: St. Louis University (B.S., 1969; Ph.D., 1976); Washington University (J.D., 1982). COURSES: Criminal
Law, Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Pretrial Practice. Email: blumoff_ty
@ law.mercer.edu
SUZANNE
LOYD CASSIDY, (Law Professor), born London, England, December 18, 1952; admitted to bar, 1981,
Georgia. Education: University of Georgia (A.B., 1974); Mercer University
School of Law (J.D., 1981); Florida State University
(M.S., Information Studies). COURSES: Legal Research. Email: cassidy_sl
@ law.mercer.edu
JOSEPH
E. CLAXTON, (Law Professor), born Griffin, Georgia, April 12, 1946; admitted to bar, 1972, Georgia.
Education: University (B.A., 1968); Duke University
(J.D., 1972). COURSES: Business Associations, Wills & Trusts, Legal
Ethics, American Legal History. Email: claxton_je @ law.mercer.edu
JOHN O.
COLE, (Law Professor),
born St. Louis, Missouri, July 22, 1936; admitted to bar, 1970, Pennsylvania;
1972, Indiana; 1992, Georgia. Education: Duke
University (A.B., 1958); Indiana University
(M.A., 1962); Universityof Pennsylvania (J.D.,
1970). COURSES: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure,
Jurisprudence. Email: cole_jo @ law.mercer.edu
RICHARD
W. CRESWELL, (Law Professor), born Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 5, 1946; admitted to bar, 1972,
Tennessee. Education: Emory University (B.A., 1969); Vanderbilt University
(J.D., 1972). COURSES: Torts, Local Government, Environmental Law. Email:
creswell_rw @ law.mercer.edu
DERYL
D. DANTZLER, (Law Professor), born Macon, Georgia, January 26, 1944; admitted to bar, 1970, Georgia.
Education: MercerUniversity (B.A., 1964;
J.D., 1970). COURSES: Advanced Trial Practice, Evidence, Trial Practice,
Problems in Trial Evidence. Email: Dean @ NCDC.NET
JAMES
PETER FLEISSNER, (Law Professor), born Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 19, 1957; admitted to bar, 1986, Illinois. Education: Marquette University
(B.A., 1979); Universityof Chicago (J.D., 1986). COURSES:
Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Trial Practice, Appellate Advocacy. Email:
fleissner_jp @ law.mercer.edu
TIMOTHY
W. FLOYD, (Law Professor), born Atlanta, Georgia, August 16, 1955; admitted to bar, 1980,
Georgia; 1991, Texas. Education: Emory
University (B.A.; M.A., 1977); University of Georgia
School of Law (J.D., 1980). COURSES: Clinical
Teaching, Criminal Law. Email: floyd_tw @ law.mercer.edu
SARAH
L. GERWIG-MOORE, (Law Professor), born Bluefield, West Virginia, March 8, 1978; admitted to
bar, 2002, Georgia. Education: Mercer
University (B.A., 1997); Emory University,
Candler School of Theology (M.T.S., 2002); Emory UniversitySchool of Law (J.D.,
2002). COURSES: Appellate Practice, Public Interest Law. Email: gerwigmoor_s
@ law.mercer.edu
OREN R.
GRIFFIN, (Law Professor), born New Orleans, Louisiana;
admitted to bar, 1996, Georgia;
1998, Michigan.
Education: Southern University at New Orleans
(B.S., 1987); University of Northern Iowa (Ph.D., 1994); Washington &Lee UniversitySchool of Law (J.D.,
1996). COURSES: Civil Procedures, Employment Law, Education Law. Email:
griffin_or @ law.mercer.com
DAVID
CHARLES HRICIK, (Law Professor), born Sharon, PA, April 5, 1961; admitted to bar, 1988,
Texas. Education: Universityof Arizona (B.A., 1984);
Northwestern University (J.D., 1988). COURSES: Civil Procedure,
Computers/Internet, Professional Responsibility, Remedies. Email: hricik_d
@ law.mercer.edu
JAMES LOGAN HUNT,
(Law Professor),
admitted to bar, 1988, North Carolina.
Education: University of North Carolina (A.B., 1981; J.D., 1988); University of Wisconsin
(Ph.D., 1990); HarvardLaw School
(LL.M., 1993). COURSES: Legal Writing I and II, American Legal History. Email:
hunt_jl @ mercer.edu
LINDA
P. JELLUM, (Law Professor), born Oakland, California, June 14, 1963; admitted to bar, 1989, New
York and Connecticut; 1993, Washington; 2002, North Carolina; 2003, Georgia. Education:
Cornell University
(B.A., 1985); CornellUniversity LawSchool (J.D., 1989). COURSES:
Admin. Law, Statutory Analysis, Advanced Transactional Drafting, Business
Associations. Email: jellum_lp @ law.mercer.edu
STEPHEN
M. JOHNSON, (Law Professor), born Middlesex, New Jersey, May 20, 1963; admitted to bar, 1988,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Education: Villanova
University (B.S., 1985; J.D., 1988); George WashingtonUniversity (LL.M., 1992).
COURSES: Torts, Environmental Law, Administrative Law, Statutory
Analysis. Email: johnson_s @ law.mercer.edu
MARK
LAURENCE JONES, (Law Professor), born Eastleigh, U.K., May 18, 1953; admitted to bar, 1978, England and Wales. Education: University College
(B.A., 1974; M.A., 1979); Universityof Michigan (LL.M.,
1983). COURSES: Comparative Law, European Community Law, International
Business and Trade, Immigration Law, Jurisprudence. Email: jones_ml @
law.mercer.edu
REYNOLD
J. KOSEK, (Law Professor), born Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1947; admitted to bar,
1975, California; 1976, Pennsylvania. Education: WestVirginia University
(A.B., 1968); State University of New York (M.L.S., 1971); University of NorthCarolina (J.D., 1975). COURSES: Contracts,
Remedies, Sales, Mass Media, Introduction to Law Study. Email: kosek_rj
@ law.mercer.edu
HAROLD
S. LEWIS, JR., (Law Professor), born New York, New York, September 26, 1947; admitted to bar, 1973, New York; 1987, Georgia. Education: Columbia University
(A.B., 1969) StanfordUniversity (J.D., 1972). COURSES:
Employment Discrimination, Civil Rights, Civil Procedure. Email: lewis_hs
@ law.mercer.edu
PATRICK
E. LONGAN, (Law Professor), born Little Rock, Arkansas, June 13, 1957; admitted to bar, 1983,
Texas. Education: Washington University (A.B., 1979); University
of Sussex (M.A., 1980); University of Chicago (J.D., 1983). COURSES: Law
of Lawyering, Judicial Field Placement, Litigation Ethics. Email: longan_p
@ law.mercer.edu
MICHAEL
W. MATTOX, (Law Professor), born Jacksonville, Florida, July 1, 1955; admitted to bar, 1984,
Georgia. Education: Stetson University (B.A., 1977); Emory University
(J.D., 1984). Email: mattox_mw @ law.mercer.com
DAVID
G. OEDEL, (Law Professor), born Salem, Massachusetts, July 30, 1957; admitted to bar, 1987,
Massachusetts. Education: Haverford
College (B.A., 1979); Boston University
(J.D., 1987). COURSES: Contracts, Intellectual Property, Banking,
Business, Civil Procedure. Email: oedel_dg @ law.mercer.edu
SUZIANNE
PAINTER-THORNE, (Law Professor), born Cheverly, Maryland, September 20, 1966; admitted to
bar, 2002, California; 2002, Eastern District of California; 2003, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Education: University
of Maryland (B.A., 1999); University of California,
Davis School of Law (J.D., 2002). COURSES: Legal
Research and Writing. Email: painter-thorne_sd @ law.mercer.edu
DAVID
T. RITCHIE, (Law Professor), born Cleveland, Ohio, December, 17, 1965; admitted to bar, 1995,
Oregon; 1996, U.S. District Oregon. Education: Cleveland
State University
(B.A., 1991); University of Oregon (Ph.D., 2004); Howard UniversitySchool of Law (J.D.,
1995). COURSES: Legal Analysis, Law and Culture/Society, Contracts, Comparative
Law. Email: ritchie_dt @ law.mercer.edu
MICHAEL
DEAN SABBATH, (Law Professor), born St Louis, Missouri, October 24, 1950; admitted to
bar, 1975, Georgia. Education: University
of Wisconsin (B.A., 1972); Emory University
(J.D., 1975); ColumbiaUniversity (LL.M., 1985).
COURSES: Contracts, Commercial Law, Remedies. Email: sabbath_md @
law.mercer.edu
JACK
LEE SAMMONS, (Law Professor), born Fairfield, Ohio, September 9, 1945; admitted to bar, 1974,
Georgia; 1977, District of Columbia. Education: Duke
University (B.A., 1967); University of Georgia
(J.D., 1974); Antioch
(M.A.T., 1978). COURSES: Legal Ethics, Evidence, Criminal Law,
Counseling. Email: JLSJR @ AOL.COM
JENNIFER
SHEPPARD, (Law Professor), born Lancaster, Ohio, March 30, 1974; admitted to bar, 1999, Ohio;
2002, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio. Education: Ohio University
(B.A., 1996); CapitalUniversity LawSchool (J.D., 1999). COURSES:
Legal Writing, Poverty Law, Judicial Externship Program. Email: sheppard_jl
@ law.mercer.edu
KAREN
J. SNEDDON, (Law Professor), born Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom, September 29, 1976; admitted
to bar, 2003, New York. Education: Louisiana
State University
(B.A., 1999); McNeese State University
(1996-1998); Westminster College (1999); Tulane Law School (J.D., 2002). COURSES: Legal
Writing. Email: sneddon_kj @ law.mercer.edu
SCOTT
TITSHAW, (Law Professor), born Lawrenceville, Georgia, April 8, 1963; admitted to bar, 1990, Georgia.
Education: Georgetown University (A.B., 1985); University
of Georgia School
of Law (J.D., 1990); Universität Hamburg (LL.M., 1993). COURSES:
Property, Real Estate Transactions, International Business Transactions, Sexual
Orientation & the Law. Email: titshaw_sc @ law.mercer.edu
JAMES
SHAND WATSON, (Law Professor), born Galashiels, Scotland, July 5, 1946; Education: Edinburgh University
(LL.B., 1969); Universityof Illinois (LL.M.,
1972). COURSES: International Law, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law. Email:
watson_js @ law.mercer.edu
DONAL
CHRISTOPHER WELLS, (Law Professor), born New York, New York, August 24, 1949; admitted to bar, 1979, California. Education:
Grinnell College
(B.A., 1971); Vanderbilt Divinity School
(1971); Universityof Iowa (J.D., 1978). COURSES:
Business Associations, Contracts, Securities Regulation. Email: wells_dc
@ law.mercer.edu
VIRGINIA
FAIRCLOTH WILLIAMS, (Law Professor), born Bleckley County, Georgia, August 15, 1942; admitted
to bar, 1978, District of Columbia; 1980, Massachusetts. Education: Emory University
(B.A., 1964); University of California
Hastings College
of the Law (J.D., 1978); BostonUniversity (LL.M., 1982).
COURSES: Federal Income Tax, Domestic Relations. Email: williams_vf
@ law.mercer.edu