Greear Webb came to Emory as a Woodruff Fellow, earning a full scholarship for his legal education based on a lifetime of outstanding leadership, both academically and socially. The ideals that spurred him toward a career in law are the ones that have sustained him throughout this journey.
As he says, “I want to be an attorney so I can help others and, in doing so, ensure that justice is even-handed.”
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Webb is an alumnus of UNC-Chapel Hill, where he double-majored in political science and African, African American and diaspora studies.
For his efforts to better the greater Chapel Hill community, Webb was recognized as a 2022 Chancellor's Award Recipient — UNC’s highest student honor. In summer 2022, he completed a fellowship at CFK Africa in Kenya, growing his understanding of international, community-driven advocacy as he worked with Kenyan young people to develop a youth-centered leadership curriculum. While there, he witnessed how the struggle for justice is a global effort, how people’s diversity strengthens communities, and the importance of reflective representation.
“In elementary school, I wanted to be a police officer, but I’ve learned that lawyers, more than many other professionals, get to spend quality time with each of their clients,” he says. “And that’s what I truly love: meeting people, learning their life stories and, when necessary, fighting for justice on their behalf.”
Webb says he has maintained resilience through law school by leaning on his support system and his faith, saying faith pushed him “toward peace in times of chaos” and reminded him that he came to Emory “to become a better advocate for the undervalued and overlooked.”
He says his favorite professor at Emory Law has been Associate Dean Kamina Pinder because she kept class engaging and fun while ensuring her students understood and could apply the concepts she was teaching.
“I taught Greear in his first law school class during orientation, and I have had the pleasure of teaching him in two additional courses after that,” Pinder says. “Greear was a leader even before he set foot on Emory’s campus, but it has been a real honor to watch his growth as he combined his intelligence, poise and integrity with his nascent legal knowledge.
“Now that he is graduating, I look forward to watching his continued commitment to the law and community service manifest into what will undoubtedly be an impressive career,” Pinder adds. ”We are so proud of Greear. Frankly, I am convinced that I will one day be voting for him!”
Webb is graduating from Emory Law with a concentration in criminal law. He plans to use his degree to “zealously advocate for those seeking justice, particularly in the employment law space,” he says. He will begin working as an associate at the Atlanta-based law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert in August.
His relationship to Emory doesn’t end here, though.
To Webb, being an Emory alum is about duty.
“I have a duty to represent the law school well by striving to lead with courage, principle and conviction, even when it seems easier to remain silent, compromise and retreat,” he says. “To be an alum of Emory Law means I have a duty to reflect the diversity and inclusivity of the city in which Emory sits: Atlanta.
“Finally, to be an alum of Emory Law means to put people first and to remember that Emory lawyers are those who serve others by putting the law into action.”