A Unique and Fortuitous Combination

A Unique and Fortuitous Combination chronicles the history of the law school that has furnished the state of Georgia with nine of its governors, eight of its House Speakers, five U.S. senators, thirty members of Congress, and fifty-four federal and state appellate judges.

The University of Georgia School of Law began its classes in the law offices of Joseph H. Lumpkin, Georgia's first supreme court justice, a few months before the outbreak of the Civil War. Over the years it has grown from a fledgling department with one teacher, to a modest but comprehensive law school during the Progressive Era, to its current status as one of the most consistently well-regarded public law schools in the nation, thanks to the talents of a fortuitous combination of deans, university presidents, and state government officials.