CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A new dean has taken the reins at the University of Virginia School of Law, and she’s a familiar face.

Leslie Kendrick became the 13th dean to lead the Law School on Monday.

She first came to UVA as a student in 2003, graduating in 2006 and serving as a clerk for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and Associate Justice David Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I remember what it was like to start here as a first-year student, and how nervous I was, but also how incredibly thrilled I was to start my legal education,” Kendrick said. “And I didn’t even know at the time all the great opportunities I would have in terms of classes, summer jobs and work after law school, as well as all the amazing speakers to see, and activities and organizations to be a part of.”

Kendrick returned to UVA in 2008 to begin teaching.

She spent 16 years as a professor, focused on free speech and torts, and then served four years as the vice dean under her predecessor, Risa Goluboff.

Kendrick says she is looking to help the Law School evolve into the future, adapting to the proliferation of artificial intelligence and preparing students for an evolving legal profession.

“We are part of a continuous community of alumni and students, a neighborhood, and part of a larger professional community for life,” she said. “There are many events and factors outside our school that we cannot control, but we can control how we treat each other.

Before taking up the role of dean, Kendrick served as the faculty director at the Center for the First Amendment.

Her name has also appeared as an author or co-author on at least 22 articles, chapters or essays on free speech.

In 2021, she chaired a committee that produced UVA’s Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry, which was later endorsed by President Jim Ryan and adopted by the UVA Board of Visitors.

Goluboff introduced Kendrick to Law School alumni on Reunions Weekend, reflecting on the role Kendrick has played during her time as dean.

“I relied on Leslie's wise counsel, razor-sharp mind, and friendship throughout my deanship. She helped steer the law school through the challenges of the white supremacist and neo-Nazi violence of Aug. 11 and 12, 2017, and the COVID pandemic,” Goluboff said. “She was the primary academic officer who led our efforts to move operations online in eight days in the spring of 2020 and then into a hybrid format for the following school year. There is no one I would rather be in a foxhole with than Leslie Kendrick.”

The UVA School of Law is 205 years old.