Awards for Professor Anne Emanuel
Georgia State University College of Law retired professor Anne Emanuel recently was honored by the university with emeritus status, as well as being honored with the Lifetime Commitment to Public Service Award from the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC).
The emeritus title recognizes Emanuel's years of honorable and distinguished service teaching and within the legal community.
"Being a member of the faculty of Georgia State Law has been a privilege and a pleasure," Emanuel says. "I'm grateful to have had that opportunity, and I'm grateful to be able to continue my association with the college in this way."
As professor emerita, Emanuel will teach Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Wills and Trusts and Fiduciary Administration. She also will collaborate with other Georgia State Law professors and fellow emeriti faculty members. Her public interest work also will continue.
"Receiving emerita status is a testament to the incredible contributions Anne has made to our students, Georgia State Law and Atlanta's legal community in general," says Steven J. Kaminshine, dean and professor of law. "It also reflects her dedication to helping provide equal access to legal services for all in need."
Throughout her career, Emanuel has been incredibly active in the legal community through her public service. On Feb. 4, she received the EPIC Lifetime Commitment to Public Service Award at Emory University School of Law's annual Inspiration Awards. She is one of three local attorneys the organization recognized for their extraordinary public interest work.
"Receiving the EPIC award is simply overwhelming," Emanuel says. "It's important for lawyers to give back through public service. That should be part of every lawyer's career, and in my case, as so often is true, it has been one of the most rewarding parts."
Some of Emanuel's proudest moments include volunteering to answer the phones in Saturday lawyers programs set up by Atlanta Legal Aid; participating in 1,000 Lawyers for Justice; facilitating the Georgia State Law Fulton County Jail Project; and serving as Chair of the ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Assessment Project Georgia Team.
Emanuel encourages fellow attorneys to do what they can, when they can to help others.
"Opportunities really do abound, and every bit of assistance matters," she says. "The ability to practice law is a valuable privilege. When citizens who need access to our legal system can't afford representation, the system itself loses integrity. In the short run, that creates intolerable unfairness to the individual; in the long run, I fear the center won't hold."