Rita Sheffey, a veteran litigator with a career-long commitment to public service, serves as Emory Law's assistant dean for public service. Her mission is to help ensure students, graduates, faculty and staff live up to Emory Law's mission to serve the community and advance the rule of law. Sheffey followed an atypical path to law, starting out as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia intent on becoming a physician. Instead of pursuing medical school, she earned her PhD in chemistry at Duke University, and then secured a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. She earned her JD at Boston College Law School. In practice, Sheffey has focused on complex, scientific-based litigation in environmental, product liability, trademark and patent infringement, and business torts cases in both federal and state appellate courts. Her experience includes Superfund, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act cases.