To: Students, Faculty and Staff
From: Professor Robert Rosen, Chair Dean’s Selection Group for Public Interest Awards
Re: Nominations for Awards for Public Interest Service
Date: March 6, 2007
We are pleased to invite students to apply for the Awards for Public Interest Service. Work in the public interest is an important professional responsibility for each member of the bar and law school is an excellent time to begin meeting that responsibility. The aim of these awards is to recognize students and student organizations who best exemplify the Law School’s vibrant tradition of service to the community and the profession. We recognize that it will not be easy to select one or two awardees from among the very large number of our students who devote such remarkable energy, commitment and talent to public interest work. One award will be for Exemplary Service to the Poor and the other will be Innovative Service in the Public Interest.
Applications must be received by Dean Lennon’s office (A211) no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 23rd. Nominations may come from students, faculty, or supervising attorneys. A student may nominate him- or herself. A committee of faculty and administration will select the awardees. We expect the award for Exemplary Service to the Poor to be given annually. The award for Innovative Service in the Public Interest will be made in those years in which there is a particularly noteworthy instance of innovation.
Details on the awards and information on the application process are set out at the end of this email. Once again, we are pleased to offer this celebration of our high esteem for the outstanding work that our students perform in the public interest.
Exemplary Service to the Poor. This award will go to a graduating 3L student who has performed exemplary service benefiting poor persons. The work must have been accomplished through an existing student or community organization. Qualifying work includes law-related as well as non law-related work and may be either directly beneficial to poor persons or to a charitable, religious or educational organization whose overall mission and activities predominately address the needs of poor persons. The term poor is not limited to those who meet federal poverty standards but also includes "working poor." A qualifying student may have received academic credit or financial compensation for the work.
Innovative Service in the Public Interest. This award will go to a graduating 3L student or to a student organization whose board membership consists significantly of graduating 3L students. Qualifying work includes the meaningful expansion of an existing program, or the creation of a new program. The award seeks to recognize innovation in addressing public interest concerns and may include: (1) work for persons of limited means, (2) work that expands the work of a charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental or educational organization and addresses the needs of persons of limited means; (3) work that is designed to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, (4) work that expands the work of charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organization; (5) work that is designed to improve the law, the legal system or the legal profession. A qualifying student may have received academic credit or financial compensation for the work.
Application Process:
- The nominator may be a student, faculty member or supervising attorney. Self-nominations are encouraged.
- A student may be nominated for both awards, but separate applications must be submitted for each award. The application must clearly designate the award for which the application applies.
- The application must include:
- a statement, no more than 5 pages in length, from the nominating person regarding the suitability of the nominee for the award;
- three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a supervising attorney or comparable supervisor;
- a resume, to be submitted by the nominee.
- The nominator should submit ten (10) copies of the application documents.
- The application deadline is 4 p.m., Friday, March 23rd The application may be delivered to Dean Marni Lennon’s office (Room A-211) or mailed to:
Public Interest Awards
c/o Dean Marni Lennon, Dean of Students Office
University of Miami School of Law
P.O. Box 248087
Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087
To be considered, applications must be received no later than the deadline date...
So the best method, is to deliver by hand.