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The Callaway Foundation recently donated $200,000 to the University of Georgia School of Law. The donation will expand the provision of legal services through its experiential learning programs, clinics and externships to rural and legally underserved communities in the Peach State.  

Callaway Foundation President Tripp Penn said that the foundation and UGA School of Law have had a longstanding relationship. 

He also noted that many local students have graduated from the law school as well. 

Hatton Lovejoy, trusted confidante and Callaway family friend, also received an engineering degree from the University of Georgia in 1896 and a law degree from that institution in 1897. After graduation, he began the practice of law in LaGrange where he was first retained by Fuller E. Callaway, Sr. 

“Callaway Foundation Trustees are pleased to be part of such a vital project for people across Georgia,” Penn said. “UGA’s School of Law is one of the best in the country, and we continue to be impressed with Dean Rutledge’s leadership. These clinics are a great way to provide necessary services to vulnerable populations in Georgia and to help cultivate a heart for service among law students.”

In addition, the school envisions scheduling “local legal service days” in Georgia counties, beginning with Troup County this summer. 

With the technology investment, services can be offered to rural, legally underserved parts of state. 

“I’d like to thank the Callaway Foundation and am grateful for their partnership. This generous donation will harness the power of technology to expand the impact of the law school’s clinics and reach legally underserved parts of the state,” School of Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said in a press release. “It will help to provide Georgians with legal assistance on a wide range of issues as well as provide valuable practical experience for our law students who will become tomorrow’s attorneys and leaders.”  

Rutledge said this new funding to upgrade and expand technology will be pivotal in growing the provision of legal services and education for our clinics like the Veterans Legal Clinic, the Jane W. Wilson Family Justice Clinic and the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, among others.

 “The pandemic and new technologies are changing the way legal services are provided, and the Callaway Foundation gift will allow the School of Law to more fully embrace these changes to benefit Georgia’s citizens, including those in rural areas,” Rutledge said.    

The law school operates 18 experiential learning programs that provide legal services for low-income individuals, veterans, victims of domestic violence, small businesses and other clients.  

“We hope see them expand into Troup County,” Penn said. 

“There is a lot of potential with this investment.”