W&L Law Dean Moving to Emory

David Partlett, dean of the School of Law at Washington & Lee University, has been named the new dean of Emory Law School.

Partlett told the Rockbridge Weekly that the decision to leave Washington & Lee was difficult. "Working with the faculty, students and staff has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life," he told the Lexington, Virginia newspaper. "In the last six years, we have all worked to build on W&L's strengths -- its commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship."

Partlett, who holds his LL.B. from the University of Sydney, established new international exchange programs for W&L and expanded its LL.M. program. He is also credited with expanding the size of W&L's faculty and attracting an increasingly competitive student body. He raised a record amount of funds for projects such as the renovation and technological upgrading of School of Law's classrooms and other academic spaces.

In Atlanta, Ben Johnson, chair of the Emory Board of Trustees and member of the law school dean search committee, called Partlett's appointment "a wonderful addition to both the Emory community and the Atlanta and Georgia legal communities....He brings both a U.S. and global perspective to the law and legal education, and he has experience as a student, faculty member and dean at some of the nation's very best law schools, which will be a substantial asset as he begins his work at Emory."

Partlett will assume his duties at Emory on July 1. Washington & Lee said it would soon begin a search for his replacement.

Sources:

"W&L's David Partlett Named New Law Dean At Emory University," the Rockbridge Weekly (Lexington, VA), April 10, 2006

"Emory Names New Law School Dean." Press release, Emory University, April 7, 2006