Alumni Public Service Awards and Celebration

We are  pleased to announce the Cornell Law School Exemplary Public Service Awards! 

The Law School is very proud of our alumni who contribute to the public good through their work with public interest organizations, government agencies, and law firm pro bono projects. Cornell Law School alumni will be selected for Exemplary Public Service Awards, to be presented at this year’s Public Service Law Alumni Reception on Friday, February 8, 2019, at the New York City Bar. 

Selection and Timeline
The Public Service Committee at Cornell Law School will select the alumni awardees.  Awardees will be announced in mid-December.

Nomination Guidelines
The Awards honor Cornell Law School graduates from around the world who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to public service and social justice in their careers. 

As the Public Service Committee expects to receive a large number of nominations, a narrative describing the nature and depth of your nominee’s commitment to public service is very important.  Please provide a sufficient amount of detail so that the Committee may give your nomination proper consideration. This detail should include the length of time the nominee has spent on public interest work, descriptions of the nominee’s projects or cases, and how the nominee has succeeded in public service work.

ELIGIBILITY
The nominees must be Cornell Law School graduates. Nominators do not have to be graduates of Cornell Law School and may nominate more than one individual.  The Committee  will accept posthumous nominations.  The Committee will also accept nominations for law school professors , but the strength of these nominations will depend on how the nominees have exceeded their traditional professional duties.  The Committee will not consider nominations for sitting judges. 

The law school will provide travel assistance for awardees as needed.   

NOMINATION CATEGORIES

In addition to our general Awards, the Committee will select awardees in the following categories.

Rising Star
The “Rising Star” award is reserved for an advocate who has graduated in the last five years.

Pro Bono Award
The Pro Bono Award is reserved for a law firm or corporate legal department that performs outstanding work providing legal services to those in need. The awardee must demonstrate commitment to the development of pro bono legal services or contributes significantly toinnovative approaches to the delivery of legal services. To qualify, at least one Cornell alumni must be involved in the project or program and should be willing to accept the award on the firm’s or project’s behalf.