Gilbert Oladeinbo decided to be a lawyer to uphold the law and enforce it with fairness and equity, and he is an advocate for equal opportunity between the sexes, among minority groups and across class divisions.
Hometown:
Lagos, Nigeria
High school:
Citizens Comprehensive College, Lagos, Nigeria
Current employment:
Scholarly communications assistant, Alexander Campbell King Law Library
Family ties to UGA:
None. I am the first member of my family to attend the University of Georgia.
Expected graduation:
Spring 2019
Degree objective:
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
Juris Doctor program (2017-current):
— Recipient, The Donald Lee Hollowell Legacy Award (2018)
— Recipient, 2018 Custer-Tuggle Award for Excellence in Family Law (2018)
— Awardee, 2018 King & Spalding Diversity Fellowship
— Semi-finalist, 2017 Talmadge Moot Court Competition
— Member, Black Law Students Association
— Member, OUTlaw Students Association
— Member, Student Bar Association
— Member, UGA School of Law Moot Court Team (2017/2018)
— Editorial Board Member, Georgia Law Review (2017/2018)
— Vice-Chair, UGA School of Law Moot Court Team (2018/2019)
— Executive Online Editor, Georgia Law Review (2018/2019)
The highlight of my J.D. experience is my participation in the Prosecutorial Justice Program (PJP) at the School of Law. Every day in this program I am reminded of the reason why I decided to be a lawyer — to uphold the law and enforce it with fairness and equity.
Other highlights of my J.D. experience are the moot court programs and law review activities. The work is fantastic but the professional and personal connection with my colleagues, mentors and other members of these programs is exhilarating. Lest I forget, I attended my first law school bar review this Fall and I loved it. (Be informed, law students know how to party!!)
Master of Laws (2016/2017):
— Recipient, UGA School of Law Full Tuition Scholarship
— Recipient, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship (2017)
— Legal Intern, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
I chose to attend UGA because …
… it had the best value for legal education in the United States. Two years later and same holds true.
One of my best friends and former classmate from my college days in Nigeria, Elisha Atulomah, attended UGA for his master’s in 2016 and convinced me to apply and choose UGA for my master’s and J.D. degrees. Ultimately, the final decision came down to UGA’s offer of a full-tuition scholarship for my master’s program.
My favorite things to do on campus are …
… walk around to view the architectural designs on North Campus, study in the law library and attend my classes.
When I have free time, I like …
… to sleep, catch up on my favorite TV shows, and plan the next big thing for fairness and equity in the world.
The craziest thing I’ve done is …
… take a dive in Lake Oconee.
My favorite place to study is …
… the annex area of the law library.
My favorite professor is …
I have three favorite professors at the School of Law: Lonnie T. Brown, Alan Cook and Andrea Dennis.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with …
… U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
If I knew I could not fail, I would …
… be a justice of the Supreme Court.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to …
… set up a trust fund for low-income and less-privileged persons to access quality public education up to a college degree (or its equivalent).
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it?
For college, I attended Babcock University, a Seventh-Day Adventist educational institution in Nigeria where I learned about a special kind of man that I wanted to be. A man who will not be bought or sold, who in his innermost soul is true and honest, who would not fear to call sin by its right name, whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, and who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.
Today, I am an active member of several national and international civil societies that advocate for fairness and equal opportunity between the sexes, among minority groups and across class divisions. Our society must be one where everyone can be the best versions of themselves irrespective of their distinct characteristics.
After graduation, I plan to …
I have accepted a full-time job with the Trial & Global Disputes group of King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be …
… the community of students studying in the main section of the law library. Every day I walk into the library I see students from diverse backgrounds working as a team to demystify core legal concepts for their mutual benefits. There is so much in that selflessness and togetherness that I wish could be transmuted into the real world.
