GW Law installed Tara Twomey as the inaugural Jeff & Martha Kohn Associate Professor of Clinical Law for the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic at its fall 2026 Alumni Advisory Council Weekend Dean’s Dinner on Oct. 16.
A gift from GW Law alumnus Jeff Kohn, J.D. ’84, and his wife, Martha, endowed the new clinical law professorship. It establishes a permanent director for the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic, one of 21 clinics offered through the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics program. Student-attorneys in this clinic gain real-world experience by representing local nonprofits, small businesses and organizations owned by clients who otherwise could not afford to hire legal representation.
Kohn is the Professor of Practice for Business and Finance Law at GW Law and the director of the GW Law in New York program. He teaches employment law and labor law. Prior to his latest gift, the Kohn family’s generosity has funded scholarships for GW Law students and endowed the Jeff and Martha Kohn Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, a position currently held by Laurie Kohn (no relation).
Speaking at the installation ceremony, held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, GW Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew spoke of the importance of investing in teachers.
“Jeff and Martha understand something profound,” Matthew said. “If you want to change a student’s life, invest in the people who teach them. And if you want to change a community, invest in the faculty who teach students to serve it.”
The Kohns’ gift, she added, “will touch every student who walks into the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic, and every entrepreneur, family business and neighborhood organization those students will help.”
The theme of the dean’s dinner ceremony was “Celebrate Inspired Impact." Students and early career graduates offered testimonies about the direct benefit they have received from alumni giving.
Kohn said that he and Martha wanted to honor the late Susan Jones, who founded the clinic in 1988. Serendipitously, it seemed fitting to celebrate this installation at the world’s only major art museum solely dedicated to championing women artists, which also was the home of the George Washington University Law School from 1910-1921.
“[Jones’] passing a few years ago left a void that is deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing her, but her legacy has continued to live on,” Kohn said in his remarks at the dinner.
With a career devoted to advancing economic justice, Twomey is the perfect person to carry on Jones’ legacy, Kohn said. Prior to joining GW Law this fall, Twomey was the director of the United States Trustee Program, the component of the Department of Justice often described as the watchdog of the nation's bankruptcy system. She has also served as executive director of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center and as counsel to the National Consumer Law Center.
Twomey said she is honored to be the inaugural Jeff & Martha Kohn Associate Professor of Clinical Law for the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic.
“The work of the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic has long demonstrated the power of legal education to advance economic justice by expanding access to legal services for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations,” Twomey said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to build on Professor Susan Jones’ extraordinary legacy, and I am thankful for Jeff and Martha Kohn’s commitment to the clinic’s continued impact.”
