NALP Recognition of Service Excellence Awards

The NALP Awards Committee and the Member Services Advisory Group are pleased to announce the creation of the Recognition of Service Excellence Award.   In addition to the annual Awards of Distinction, NALP will recognize its wonderful volunteers throughout the year – those who go above and beyond making notable contributions to the organization and its members.  The Recognition of Service Excellence Award will be given out periodically based upon nominations received by the Awards Committee.

Recipients of the award will be spotlighted in the NALP Bulletin and NALPNow!, and a formal letter of appreciation and acknowledgement will also be sent to the recipients’ Hiring Partner/Dean (whoever they select within their organization) from the NALP President and Vice-President/Chair of the Awards Committee.  The nomination process is simple.  The form can be completed online and will be submitted directly to the Awards Committee for consideration.  The four questions on the form include: 1) nominee’s name; 2) nominee’s employer; 3) nominee’s NALP involvement; 4) stated reason for nomination.  The next service excellence award nomination deadline is May 7, 2012.

NALP Awards of Distinction

Each year NALP presents its Awards of Distinction to individuals, organizations and programs that represent some of the best practices in our field, while celebrating our members for their leadership, innovation, and vision. The NALP Awards of Distinction fall into nine categories:

• Diversity
• Innovation
  Leadership
  
• NALP Leadership
• Professional Development and Training
• Public Service
• Recruitment Practices
• Technology
• Writing

Applications for the NALP Awards of Distinction become available each December and are usually due at the end of January. The Awards are presented at the Annual Education Conference in the spring.

Click here for a nomination form in PDF.

Criteria
History
Recent Recipients
Past Recipients

Criteria

In selecting the award winners, the Awards of Distinction Committee looks for the people and organizations that provide leadership and direction in legal employment and the legal profession, as well as those whose professional accomplishments and special projects are advancing the mission of NALP. The Awards of Distinction Committee is appointed annually by the NALP President.

History

The NALP Awards of Distinction were established in 2004 at the behest of the Board of Directors which acknowledged the need to recognize a broad array of accomplishments, particularly among NALP members. NALP members are engaged in a wide range of endeavors, often working on the cutting edge of new developments in recruiting, career development, professional development, and diversity issues. The Awards of Distinction build and expand upon the foundation established by the "Mark of Distinction" award. The Mark of Distinction, which NALP awarded from 1993 - 2002, recognized those people or organizations whose programs or practices effectively and ethically met the needs of participants in the process of legal employment. Each year the Mark of Distinction was presented to one individual or organization.

Recent Recipients

2012

NALP Award of Distinction for Innovation and Recruitment Practices

2011

NALP Award of Distinction for Leadership and Professional Development and Training

Kay Nash, Director of Professional Development and Attorney Recruitment, Wiley Rein, Washington, DC  For her generous contributions and hard work to connect the professional development community to NALP and her service to NALP members in a variety of capacities.

NALP Award of Distinction for Diversity and Leadership

Jeanne Svikhart, Assistant Director, Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC  For her contributions to the DOJ’s diversity initiatives including training, outreach, recruiting, and professional development, as well as her service to NALP in innumerable capacities.

Award of Distinction for Leadership and Public Service

Deb Ellis, Assistant Dean for Public Service, NYU School of Law, New York, NY  For leadership in the public service community and in NALP, and her willingness to share resources with the entire NALP community.

2010

"Ask the Experts" Conference Call Work Group of NALP's Newer Professionals Section.  For the "Ask the Experts" Conference Call Series which provides members with timely and relevant information as well as the opportunity to exchange ideas with some of the more experienced members of NALP.

José Bahamonde-González, Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs and Student Services, University of Maryland School of Law. For his strong, passionate, relentless, and conscientious advocacy in pursuit of diversity within the legal profession, and for his promotion of the message of diversity in every initiative or project in which he has been involved through his numerous leadership positions.

Heather Jarvis, Senior Program Manager, Law School Advocacy, Equal Justice Works.  For her leadership in and  contribution to public service through her work in advocating for and educating about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA).  

2009

Award of Distinction for Innovation and Technology

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.  For their Integrated Learning Initiative which presents brief, targeted learning resources available for immediate use by everyone at the firm at the exact moment they are needed.

Award of Distinction for Leadership and Public Service

Lauren Dubin, Director of Public Interest and Government Careers, Office of Public Interest and Community Service, Georgetown University Law Center.  For her leadership in developing and shaping the public interest advising community on her campus, through her role as an informed and compassionate career counselor, and nationally, serving regularly as the host and organizer of an annual gathering of public interest career counselors.

Award of Distinction for Public Service

Equal Justice Works.  For a longstanding commitment to connecting public interest minded law students with public interest employers, and educating law students and lawyers about issues of concern in the public interest community.

Award of Distinction for Professional Development and Training

Caren Stacy, Director of Professional Development, Arnold & Porter, LLP.  For her contributions to and leadership within the legal professional development community to increase the strategic role of professional development within law firms.

Awards of Distinction for Writing

Bill Chamberlain, Assistant Dean, Northwestern University School of Law and Lynne Traverse, Recruiting and Professional Development Manager, Bryan Cave, LLP.  For their excellence in writing timely, thoughtful, well-researched, and nuanced articles on career-related matters in two national leading legal publications.

2008

2008 Award of Distinction for Diversity

Lavender Law Career Fair, National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, D’Arcy Kemnitz, Executive Director
For the creation and ongoing success of this national career fair designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion for LGBT candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts.

2008 Award of Distinction for Public Service

William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center, Touro Law Center, Tom Maligno, Executive Director
For bringing together nonprofit legal agencies to provide service to the local community, while affording students the opportunity for pro bono work and hands-on legal training.

2008 Award of Distinction for Technology

The OSCAR Development Team (On-Line System for Clerkship Application and Review)
Laura Simon, Management Analyst, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; Mark Soltys, Assistant Circuit Executive, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Chris Warner, Assistant Director for Automation and Technology, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,
For creating and developing the on-line system for federal judicial clerkship application and review.

2007

2007 Award of Distinction for Innovation

Ian Weinstein, Director of Clinical Education, Fordham Law School
For using cutting edge ‘vlog’ technology to educate students through the review of video clips.

2007 Award of Distinction for Recruiting Practices

Stuart Smith, Director of Recruitment, New York City Law Department
For expanding opportunities to students nationwide as well as streamlining the full-time hiring process for former interns.

2007 Award of Distinction for Diversity

The Colorado Pledge to Diversity: Summer Diversity Clerkship Program
For increasing opportunities and decreasing reliance upon GPAs.

2006

2006 Award of Distinction for Diversity

Impact Career Fair for Law Students and Attorneys with Disabilities
For providing a meaningful, new way for students and attorneys with disabilities and legal employers to connect.

2006 Award of Distinction for Leadership

Bonnie Goldberg (University of Toronto, Faculty of Law)
For the critical role she played in establishment of the Canadian Legal Career Development Network, the role she has played in establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the Canadian Network and NALP, and her contributions to NALP.

2006 Award of Distinction for Technology

Howrey U — The Howrey LLP Virtual University
For demonstrating how, through the use of technology, the services, training, and support delivered to our constituencies can be enhanced.

2005

2005 Award of Distinction for Diversity

Joshua Rosenkranz (Heller Ehrman LLP)
For his role in leading a successful legal challenge of the Solomon Amendment.

2005 Award of Distinction for Innovation

Roger Goldman (Latham & Watkins LLP) and Scott Michel (Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered)
For founding “Buildable Hours,” an innovative project that brings together the financial resources of legal employers and volunteer labor of summer associates, lawyers, and low-income persons in partneship with Habitat for Humanity.

2005 Award of Distinction to a Rising Star

Kris Butler (McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP)
For her contributions to NALP during her first three years in this professional field.

2005 Award of Distinction for Public Service

Sudha Shetty (Access to Justice Institute, Seattle University School of Law)
For her oversight of community-based legal organizations and in-house legal services projects that meet the needs of under-served populations.

2005 Award of Distinction for Writing

Student Lawyer Magazine, Edited by Ira Pilchen
For the link it provides between law school and law practice and the information it provides to law students.