The Charleston School of Law's Department of Student Affairs is committed to meeting the needs of our law students. Meet our staff:

Abby Edwards Saunders is the associate dean of students and the assistant director of the Externship program. She is a summa cum laude and a First Honor graduate of the College of Charleston. She earned her J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation and was inducted into the Davis Society. She served as a law clerk to the Hon. David C. Norton, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Before joining the Charleston School of Law, she was an associate with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, and a partner with The McGougan Law Firm, LLC. Dean Saunders currently serves on the executive board of the Charleston County Bar Association, the Homeless Justice Project Legal Clinic advisory board, the executive board of the Mediation Center of Charleston, the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation advisory committee and its strategic planning committee, The Lowcountry Aids Services executive board, and the College of Charleston alumni scholarship committee. Dean Saunders previously served on the Crisis Ministries board, on the College of Charleston alumni board as vice president, and the Habitat for Humanity resource and development committee. Dean Saunders will participate in the Riley Institute's Diversity Leadership Initiative during the fall of 2008.

At the School of Law, Dean Saunders teaches aviation law, a federal trial practice course, and "Practicing Law as a Business: Firm Management, Professional Responsibility and Clients" with the Hon. George C. Kosko. She has also served on the School of Law's deans' advisory council, the 2008 dean's selection committee, the diversity committee, the externship committee, and the inter-institutional diversity committee. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar, Charleston County Bar, South Carolina Women's Lawyer Association, National Association of Pro Bono Professionals, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Alumni Association, the Charleston Carolina Club and the College of Charleston Alumni Association.

Mark S. Moore is the assistant dean of students. A native of Charleston, he graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree. Prior to joining the School of Law, Moore worked in civil, criminal, family and administrative law throughout the Lowcountry and in Columbia. As a law student at the University of South Carolina, Moore clerked for the general counsel of the State Budget and Control Board and, upon graduation, worked as a civil law practitioner for a small firm in Columbia. For several years, he was a staff attorney with the Charleston County Public Defender Corporation representing approximately 1,000 indigent criminal defendants charged with all levels of criminal offenses. Later, he worked to establish the legal office handling abuse and neglect cases for the Department of Social Services in Allendale, Colleton and Hampton Counties. Most recently, he worked for a private firm in Charleston representing disability claimants in Social Security and state retirement matters. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar.

Jennifer Summers is the director of student life. She is a native of Summerville, S.C., and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Prior to joining the School of Law, she was a bankruptcy paralegal for three years in the Columbia office of Finkel Law Firm. Summers is a member of the Summerville Junior Service League and serves on the Camp Happy Days dream dates committee.