The University of Georgia School of Law announced it will start a First Amendment legal clinic, thanks to a $900,000 gift from the Stanton Foundation, established by a longtime CBS president, Frank Stanton, before his death in 2006.

UGA Law has embarked on a national search to find a director for the new clinic, which will focus on regional cases involving freedoms of speech, the press or assembly for individuals and groups who cannot afford lawyers with specialized First Amendment expertise.

The clinic, expected to open for the fall 2020 semester, also will serve as a resource for journalists, citizens, organizations and students to defend First Amendment issues and enhance law students' understanding of the amendment, according to UGA Law.

UGA Law's dean, Bo Rutledge, said in a statement that the partnership with the Stanton Foundation will "give our law students the chance to protect the rights of individuals and to raise civic awareness in communities throughout the Southeast as they learn how to navigate cases and assist clients so they will be effective lawyers after graduation."

"The creation of the First Amendment Clinic adds to the School of Law's robust clinical and experiential learning opportunities and furthers our mission to educate the next generation of lawyers so they can become leaders in their communities," Rutledge said.

It will be the seventh legal clinic for UGA Law, which also offers clinics that aid veterans, victims of child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse survivors, appellate litigation, business law and clients with health-related legal needs. According to the law school, the clinic is its 18th experiential learning program.

Defending the First Amendment is a core mission of the Stanton Foundation, which has also made grants to fund First Amendment Fellowships at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and, with the Knight Foundation, at Yale Law School's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.