Academic Awards

Graduation awards have been made available from many friends and alumni of GW Law. These awards celebrate the accomplishments of GW Law graduating students in specific doctrinal areas, oral advocacy, clinical practice, and overall academic performance. Awards are announced and distributed annually by the Dean of Students Office. Awards each year are subject to availability; the following is a list of awards that have been bestowed in recent years.

Excellence in Clinical Practice

Manuel and Ana María Benítez Award for Clinical Excellence in Immigration Law — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated extraordinary ability in their work in the Immigration Clinic, and who possesses the personal qualities that distinguish Manuel and Ana María Benítez— both immigrants to the United States from Mexico—including initiative, creativity, zeal, loyalty, and integrity.

The Clinical Legal Education Association Outstanding Student Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who excelled in a clinical course of law.

Community Legal Clinics Volunteer Service Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who excelled in volunteering their time and energy to promote the goals and ideals in the public interest by contributing to the efforts of the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics.

Richard C. Lewis, Jr. Memorial Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has exhibited extraordinary dedication to their work in the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics and unusual compassion and humanity toward clients and colleagues.

Distinguished Accomplishment

ALI CLE Scholarship and Leadership Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who best represents a combination of scholarship and leadership, the qualities embodied by the American Law Institute (ALI).

Michael Dillon Cooley Memorial Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has been most successful in maintaining their compassion, vitality, and humanity during law school. The recipient of this award is selected by the graduating Juris Doctor class.

Justice Thurgood Marshall Civil Liberties Award — Given in honor of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has demonstrated outstanding performance in and dedication to the field of civil rights and civil liberties.

National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Graduate Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has contributed to the advancement of women in society, promoted issues and concerns of women in the legal profession, achieved academic success, and earned the respect of the law school faculty and administration.

Robert E. Thibault and Richard B. Schenck Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has undertaken extraordinary efforts to honor, assist, or otherwise support veterans and current members of the United States Armed Forces.

Judge Roger W. Titus Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who seeks or obtains a federal district court clerkship and who embodies the qualities of academic excellence, personality, and humility that Judge Titus sought in his law clerks.

Ledakis & Weston Award — Given to a member of Law Review for excellence in authorship of a note.

Thelma Weaver Memorial Award — Given to a foreign student in the graduating Master of Laws class who has contributed most to the intellectual and professional life of the law school, its students, and its faculty.

Excellence in a Field of Study

American Bankruptcy Institute Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy Studies — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of debtor and creditor law.

Chris Bartok Memorial Award in Patent Law — Given to the member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who exhibited excellence in the study of patent law.

Henry R. Berger Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who demonstrated excellence in the field of tort law.

Ogden W. Fields Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated the highest overall proficiency in labor law.

Finnegan Prize in Intellectual Property Law — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who wrote the best publishable article on an aspect of intellectual property law.

Jamie Grodsky Prize for Environmental Scholarship — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class for the best paper written in the previous year in the field of environmental law.

Charles and Kathryn Miller Environmental Law Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of environmental law.

Phi Delta Phi Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated excellence in the areas of professional responsibility, ethics, and jurisprudence.

Peter D. Rosenberg Prize in Patent and Intellectual Property Law — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has exhibited excellence in the study of patent and intellectual property law.

Joel B. Rosenthal Commercial Law Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of commercial law.

Howard Rudge Creative Solutions Prize — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class for the best paper proposing a creative solution to a serious societal problem in the United States.

Laurence E. Seibel Memorial Award in Labor and Employment Law — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has demonstrated excellence in the courses in labor and employment law.

Schooner Family Prize – Given to the student adjudged to have written the best paper (including, among other things, a student note, thesis, capstone paper, or article) in a government contracts course.

Richard L. Teberg Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated the highest overall proficiency in the field of securities law.

Patricia A. Tobin Government Procurement Law Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor or Master of Laws class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of government contracts law.

Jennie Hassler Walburn Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of civil procedure.

Imogen Williford Constitutional Law Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has demonstrated excellence in the field of constitutional law.

Excellence in Oral Advocacy

Jacob Burns Award — Given to the members of the graduating class who were the winning team in the Van Vleck Moot Court Competition.

Cohen and Cohen Mock Trial Award — Given to the members of the graduating class who were the winning team in the Cohen and Cohen Mock Trial Competition.

CourtCall Law School Award — Given to two members of the graduating class that were best in Moot Court competitions and in Mock Trial competitions.

Judge Albert H. Grenadier Award — Given to the members of the graduating class who represented the law school at the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition.

Rothwell, Figg, Ernst and Manbeck Award — Given to the members of the graduating class who were the winning team in the Rothwell Intellectual Property Law Moot Court Competition.

Spanogle International Commercial Arbitration Award — Given to the members of the graduating class who represented the law school at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition in Austria or China.

Overall Academic Excellence

Anne Wells Branscomb Award — Given to a member of the graduating class who attained the highest average grade in the entire course of the part-time (evening) division for the degree of Juris Doctor.

Willard Waddington Gatchell Award — Given to the three members of the graduating class who attained the highest average grade in the entire course for the degree of Juris Doctor.

Charles Glover Award — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who has attained the highest average grade in the third-year, full-time course of study for the Juris Doctor degree.

Kappa Beta Pi Award — Given by the Eta Alumnae Chapter to the women members of the graduating class in the full- and part-time programs who attained the highest average grade in the first-year course of study for the Juris Doctor degree.

John Bell Larner Award — Given to a member of the graduating class who attained the highest average grade in the entire course of the Juris Doctor degree.

John Ordronaux Awards — Given to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who attained the highest average grade in the first-year, full-time course of study and to a member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who attained the highest average grade in the second-year, full-time course of study.

Phi Delta Delta Award — Given to a woman member of the graduating class who attained the highest average grade in the first semester of study for the Juris Doctor degree.