MERCER UNIVERSITY

WALTER F. GEORGE SCHOOL OF LAW

1021 GEORGIA AVE.

MACON, GEORGIA 31207

Telephone: (478) 301-2602

Fax: (478) 301-2101

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. Woodruff's 1987 bequest of $15 million spurred a remarkable growth in Mercer'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 School's curriculum was totally redesigned in the late 1980'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 "pre‑practice" 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 student's third year is spent in an intensive one‑week course involving alternative dispute resolution.

 

Mercer's curriculum has received attention both within legal education and within the profession. Because of the focus of Mercer's curriculum on professionalism, the American Bar Association awarded Mercer the Gambrell Professionalism Award in 1996.

 

U.S. News and World Report has ranked Mercer'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 "Where Public Interest Lawyers Go to Law School."

 

Mercer currently ranks eleventh in the country on The National Jurist's "Technology Honor Roll." 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.

 

Mercer'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 National Criminal Defense College has been located at Mercer. The dean of the college is also a full‑time professor and Director of Trial Practice at the Law School. The College brings to Mercer criminal defense attorneys from across the country to participate in intensive trial skills workshops conducted by the College.

 

Mercer'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, (Dean), born Atlanta, Georgia, July 9, 1956; admitted to bar, 1980, Georgia; 1990, Texas. Education: Randolph‑Macon Woman'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@mercer.edu

---

ANTHONY R. BALDWIN, (Professor of Law), 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@mercer.edu

 

LINDA L. BERGER, (Professor), born Akron, Colorado, November 15, 1948; admitted to bar, 1985, California. Education: University of Colorado, Boulder (B.S., 1970); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., 1985). COURSES: Legal Writing, Law and Rhetoric, Media Law, First Amendment.

 

THEODORE Y. BLUMOFF, (Professor of Law), 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@mercer.edu

 

SUZANNE LOYD CASSIDY, (Director of the Law Library and Professor of Law), 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@mercer.edu

 

JOSEPH E. CLAXTON, (Professor of Law), born Griffin, Georgia, April 12, 1946; admitted to bar, 1972, Georgia. Education: Emory University (B.A., 1968); Duke University (J.D., 1972). COURSES: Business Associations, Wills & Trusts, Legal Ethics, American Legal History. Email: claxton_je@mercer.edu

 

JOHN O. COLE, (Professor of Law), 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); University of Pennsylvania (J.D., 1970). COURSES: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Jurisprudence. Email: cole_jo@mercer.edu

 

RICHARD W. CRESWELL, (Professor of Law), 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@mercer.edu

 

DERYL D. DANTZLER, (Tammy Malone Distinguished Chair in Trial Advocacy), born Macon, Georgia, January 26, 1944; admitted to bar, 1970, Georgia. Education: Mercer University (B.A., 1964; J.D., 1970). COURSES: Advanced Trial Practice, Evidence, Trial Practice, Problems in Trial Evidence. Email: dantzler_d@mercer.edu

 

LINDA H. EDWARDS, (Macon Professor of Law and Coordinator of Legal Writing), born Miami, Florida, November 26, 1948; admitted to bar, 1977, Colorado; 1978, Idaho; 1988, New York. Education: Carson Newman College; Florida State University (B.A., 1970); University of Tennessee (J.D., 1976). COURSES: Property, Legal Writing, Legal Reasoning, Litigation Drafting, Professional Ethics. Email: edwards_lh@mercer.edu

 

JAMES PETER FLEISSNER, (Professor of Law), born Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 19, 1957; admitted to bar, 1986, Illinois. Education: Marquette University (B.A., 1979); University of Chicago (J.D., 1986). COURSES: Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Trial Practice, Appellate Advocacy. Email: fleissner_jp@mercer.edu

 

TIMOTHY W. FLOYD, (Professor of Law and Director, Law and Public Service Program), 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@mercer.edu

 

SARAH L. GERWIG‑MOORE, (Assistant Professor of Law), 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 University School of Law (J.D., 2002). COURSES: Appellate Practice, Public Interest Law. Email: gerwigmoor_s@mercer.edu

 

DAVID CHARLES HRICIK, (Professor of Law), born Sharon, PA, April 5, 1961; admitted to bar, 1988, Texas. Education: University of Arizona (B.A., 1984); Northwestern University (J.D., 1988). COURSES: Civil Procedure, Computers/Internet, Professional Responsibility, Remedies. Email: hricik_d@mercer.edu

 

JAMES LOGAN HUNT, (Associate Professor of Law), admitted to bar, 1988, North Carolina. Education: University of North Carolina (A.B., 1981; J.D., 1988); University of Wisconsin (Ph.D., 1990); Harvard Law School (LL.M., 1993). COURSES: Legal Writing I and II, American Legal History. Email: hunt_jl@mercer.edu

 

LINDA P. JELLUM, (Associate Professor of Law), 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); Cornell University Law School (J.D., 1989). COURSES: Admin. Law, Statutory Analysis, Advanced Transactional Drafting, Business Associations. Email: jellum_lp@mercer.edu

 

STEPHEN M. JOHNSON, (Associate Dean and Professor of Law), 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 Washington University (LL.M., 1992). COURSES: Torts, Environmental Law, Administrative Law, Statutory Analysis. Email: johnson_s@mercer.edu

 

MARK LAURENCE JONES, (Professor of Law), born Eastleigh, U.K., May 18, 1953; admitted to bar, 1978, England and Wales. Education: University College (B.A., 1974; M.A., 1979); University of Michigan (LL.M., 1983). COURSES: Comparative Law, European Community Law, International Business and Trade, Immigration Law, Jurisprudence. Email: jones_ml@mercer.edu

 

REYNOLD J. KOSEK, (Professor of Law), born Wilkes‑Barre, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1947; admitted to bar, 1975, California; 1976, Pennsylvania. Education: West Virginia University (A.B., 1968); State University of New York (M.L.S., 1971); University of North Carolina (J.D., 1975). COURSES: Contracts, Remedies, Sales, Mass Media, Introduction to Law Study. Email: kosek_rj@mercer.edu

 

HAROLD S. LEWIS, JR., (Walter F. George Professor of Law), born New York, New York, September 26, 1947; admitted to bar, 1973, New York; 1987, Georgia. Education: Columbia University (A.B., 1969) Stanford University (J.D., 1972). COURSES: Employment Discrimination, Civil Rights, Civil Procedure. Email: lewis_hs@mercer.edu

 

PATRICK EMERY LONGAN, (W.A. Bootle Chair in Professionalism and Ethics), 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@mercer.edu

 

DAVID G. OEDEL, (Professor of Law), 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@mercer.edu

 

SUZIANNE D. PAINTER‑THORNE, (Assistant Professor of Law), 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: thorne_sp@mercer.edu

 

DAVID T. RITCHIE, (Associate Professor of Law), 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 University School of Law (J.D., 1995); Temple Law School (LL.M., 2001). COURSES: Legal Analysis, Law and Culture/Society, Contracts, Comparative Law. Email: ritchie_dt@mercer.edu

 

MICHAEL DEAN SABBATH, (Walter Homer Drake Chair of Law), born St. Louis, Missouri, October 24, 1950; admitted to bar, 1975, Georgia. Education: University of Wisconsin (B.A., 1972); Emory University (J.D., 1975); Columbia University (LL.M., 1985). COURSES: Contracts, Commercial Law, Remedies. Email: sabbath_md@mercer.edu

 

JACK LEE SAMMONS, (Griffin B. Bell Professor of Law), 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

 

KAREN J. SNEDDON, (Assistant 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@mercer.edu

 

SCOTT TITSHAW, (Assistant 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, International Business Transactions, Sexuality, Gender and the Law. Email: titshaw_sc@law.mercer.edu

 

JAMES SHAND WATSON, (Professor of Law), born Galashiels, Scotland, July 5, 1946. Education: Edinburgh University (LL.B., 1969); University of Illinois (LL.M., 1972). COURSES: International Law, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law. Email: watson_js@mercer.edu

 

DONAL CHRISTOPHER WELLS, (Associate Professor of Law), born New York, New York, August 24, 1949; admitted to bar, 1979, California. Education: Grinnell College (B.A., 1971); Vanderbilt Divinity School (1971); University of Iowa (J.D., 1978). COURSES: Business Associations, Contracts, Securities Regulation. Email: wells_dc@mercer.edu

 

VIRGINIA FAIRCLOTH WILLIAMS, (Associate Professor of Law), 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); Boston University (LL.M., 1982). COURSES: Federal Income Tax, Domestic Relations. Email: williams_vf@mercer.edu