Release date: 7-Mar-06

New Public Interest Law Clinics Established at Emory Law School

Contact: Elaine Justice: 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu
Contact: Beverly James: 404-712-8404, bjames@emory.edu

Emory Law School is expanding its public interest program with the hiring of clinical instructors to head two new clinics. The law school's indigent criminal defense and juvenile justice clinics will begin in the fall of 2006, providing legal access to those who are among the least served.

Deirdre O'Connor is the new clinical instructor in the Indigent Criminal Defense Clinic. Most recently, O'Connor was a public defender in Indian Orchard, Mass. A 1993 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, she has spent most of her career as a public defender in Los Angeles.

Randee Waldman is the new clinical instructor in the Juvenile Justice Clinic. For the past five years Waldman has worked in New York City with Advocates for Children of New York. The organization works with families to secure quality educational services. A 1997 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Waldman spent three years with Debevoise & Plimpton, frequently doing pro bono work in juvenile justice, before taking a position with Advocates for Children.

Emory Law School created the two new clinical programs to expand its commitment to serve the community in the context of its teaching. "The expansion of our clinical programs into these new areas is an opportunity to continue to build on our existing strengths in training our students in the actual practice of law, and servicing the larger community at the same time," says interim Dean Frank S. Alexander.

Student Involvement

The Criminal Defense Clinic is a joint project with the Office of the DeKalb County Public Defender. O'Connor will select cases appropriate for student involvement and supervise students in their handling of clients and cases. She will teach a course for students enrolled in the clinic, covering legal and ethical issues that arise in the context of criminal representation and broader perspectives on the criminal justice system.

Students in the Criminal Defense Clinic will work directly with clients and will participate in courses taught by O'Connor. They will have the opportunity to represent criminal defendants, primarily in misdemeanor cases, in DeKalb County.

The Juvenile Justice Clinic is a unit of the Law School's Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic. Waldman will develop the juvenile justice course, teach fundamentals of juvenile law and litigation, and interview and represent children. She also will supervise certified legal interns who represent children in delinquency and other proceedings, and provide advocacy in the areas of school discipline, special education, mental health and public benefits.

Students in the Juvenile Justice Clinic will have the opportunity to assist in the direct representation of juvenile clients and will participate in related academic courses led by Waldman.

"Both Deirdre O'Connor and Randee Waldman bring to our community extensive experience in the representation of individuals who may otherwise lack access to legal counsel. They will enrich and enhance our entire community in multiple ways," says Alexander.

Emory Law's Public Interest Program

The clinics will expand the law school's already broad offerings of real-world experience to students. "These two new clinical opportunities will provide valuable public interest law services in areas of great need. Emory students interested in public interest law or more intensive skills training will now be able to choose from among Emory's extensive externship placements, Emory's in-house Turner Environmental Law Clinic and the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, plus these excellent two new in-house clinics," says William Buzbee, director of the Emory Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. "Emory's public interest program continues to grow in variety and distinction."

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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