Convocation Awards
Deadline for all Submissions: March 13, 2009
Convocation awards are given to graduating J.D. and LL.M. students who represent the best in our student body. These award recipients are chosen through a nomination process that is defined by category. We encourage you to nominate yourself or a fellow student to the appropriate individual/office for the awards described below.
- Scholarship & Academic Excellence (JD)
- Service to the Law School (JD & LL.M.)
- Subject Area Awards (JD & LL.M.)
- Specialization Awards (LL.M.)
- Journal/Moot Court Awards
SCHOLARSHIP & ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARDS (JD)
You will note that the Overall Achievement Awards are overlapping. You may combine award names (e.g., Sommer, Butler, Goodman, Foulk) when you submit your nomination. Include a statement in support of the nominee that highlights their outstanding credentials. Please the information requested above in an MS Word document to the Office of Student Affairs.
| Category | Award | Award Description | Submit Nominations To: |
| Overall Achievement | Frank H. Sommer Memorial Award | For outstanding scholarship, character, and professional activities | Office of Student Affairs |
| Overall Achievement | Benjamin F. Butler Memorial Award | For unusual distinction in scholarship, character, and professional activities | Office of Student Affairs |
| Overall Achievement | Maurice Goodman Memorial Prize | For outstanding scholarship and character | Office of Student Affairs |
| Overall Achievement | George P. Foulk Memorial Award | For outstanding sincerity and distinguished scholarship | Office of Student Affairs |
VANDERBILT MEDALS AND DEAN JOHN SEXTON PRIZE (JD & LL.M.)
(Service to the Law School)
Vanderbilt Medals and the Dean John Sexton Prize are designed to recognize students who have made a significant contribution to our community. Specifically, Vanderbilt Medals are given to several students for "outstanding contributions to the School of Law" and the Dean John Sexton Prize to a "law student whose outstanding service to the Law School community exemplifies the values of Dean Sexton."
The recipients can be students who have distinguished themselves in their commitment to the Law School through their work in student groups, journals, or other Law School activities and events. Please consider nominating graduating fellow classmates, members of your student organizations, or yourself. Your nomination statement should include your name, nominee's name and nominee's class year (3rd Year J.D. or LL.M.). In addition, describe the following:
- List activities and/or organizations at NYU School of Law with which the nominee is or has been involved (where applicable indicate leadership position held in organization)
- Discuss the nominee's contributions to NYU School of Law through activities and organizations affiliated with the Law School. Be as specific as possible in your comments.
For both award categories, provide the information requested above in an MS Word document to the Office of Student Affairs located in Furman 474 or by e-mail.
| Category | Award | Award Description | Submit Nominations To: |
| Community Service | Vanderbilt Medals | For outstanding contributions to the School of Law | Office of Student Affairs |
| Community Service | Dean John Sexton Prize | To a law student whose outstanding community service to the Law School community exemplifies the values of Dean Sexton | Office of Student Affairs |
SUBJECT AREA & SPECIALIZATION AWARDS (JD & LL.M.)
Subject area awards are conferred for outstanding achievement in various fields of law. These awards are based on scholarly or other excellence of the type described and can include superior quality work on a paper or note.
Students interested in being considered for a subject area award should ask the professor for whom they wrote a paper to submit this paper to the designated faculty member responsible for choosing the recipient of that award. Names of designated faculty members are indicated in the last column of the following charts.
| Category | Award | Award Description | Submit Nominations To: |
| Administrative |
Administrative Law Prize | For outstanding achievement in the area of Administrative Law | Richard Stewart |
| Antitrust | Betty Bock Prize in Competition Policy | To recognize a student who has excelled in the area of Antitrust and Competition Law | Eleanor M. Fox (Harry First) |
| Civil Procedure | Edward Weinfeld Prize | Designated by the Dean for distinguished scholarship in the area of Federal Courts, Civil Procedure and Practice, Evidence and/or Trial Practice | Helen Hershkoff |
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John Perry Prize Award | For the student who exemplifies all the Civil Liberties/Civil Rights values that John believed and held dear to his heart | Sylvia Law |
| Clinic |
Christian Jarecki ('98) Memorial Prize | For outstanding work and commitment in a Law Clinic | Randy Hertz |
| Clinic |
Ann Petluck Poses Memorial Prize | Designated by the Dean in recognition of outstanding work in a clinical course requiring student practice | Randy Hertz |
| Comparative | Howard Greenberger Award | For outstanding achievement in the area of Comparative Law | Frank Upham |
| Constitutional | Leonard M. Henkin Prize | An annual prize to be awarded for an article or note on the equal rights portion of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution | David Richards |
| Constitutional | Robert B. McKay Prize | To recognize a student who has demonstrated excellence in Constitutional Law throughout his/her years at the NYU School of Law | Cristina Rodriguez |
| Contract | Daniel G. Collins Prize | To the member of the graduating class who has demonstrated excellence in the area of Contract Law | Helen Scott |
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| Walter J. Derenberg Prize | For the student who achieves the highest academic grade in the area of Copyright Law | Rochelle Dreyfuss | |
| Criminal | Judge Abraham Lieberman Award | For outstanding scholarship in the area of Criminal Law | Stephen Schulhofer |
| Economics | Law and Economics Prize | To a student who has demonstrated excellence in the area of Law and Economics | Oren Bar-Gill |
| Entertainment | Jack J. Katz Memorial Award | To the student who has demonstrated highest excellence in the field of Entertainment Law | Harry First |
| Environmental |
Environmental Law Prize | For outstanding achievement in the area of Environmental Law | Katrina Wyman |
| Ethics | Leonard J. Schreier Memorial Prize in Ethics | To a student who has exhibited academic excellence in the area of Ethics | Stephen Gillers |
| Ethics | New York State Bar Association Award | To the law student who has exhibited academic excellence in the area of Legal Ethics | Stephen Gillers |
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Evidence |
David Friedman Memorial Award | Outstanding achievement in Evidence | Burt Neuborne |
| Human Rights | International Human Rights Award | To a student with an outstanding academic record in the field of International Human Rights | Phillip Alston |
| International | Jerome Lipper Prize | For outstanding work in the field of International Law | Benedict Kingsbury |
| Jewish/Israeli Relations | Chuna David and Rose Estreicher Memorial Prize | To a law student who has shown the greatest promise in the study of issues confronting the Jewish/Israeli people | Oscar Chase |
| Labor | Sol D. Kapelsohn Prize | Designated by the Dean for the highest excellence in writing in the field of Labor Law | Samuel Estreicher |
| Labor | Seymour Goldstein Memorial Prize | For academic excellence in the area of Labor Relations | Samuel Estreicher |
| Philosophy | John Bruce Moore Award | To a student who has demonstrated excellence in the area of Law and Philosophy | Mattias Kumm |
| Public Service | Eric Dean Bender Prize | For a third-year student who has demonstrated a working commitment to a public service-oriented cause or project outside of and separate from the Law School commitments | Deb Ellis |
| Public Service | Hy Frankel Award in Law and Social Welfare | For demonstrated commitment to practice in a public interest setting | Deb Ellis |
| Race Relations | Gary E. Moncrieffe Award | To the outstanding student in the area of Racism and the Law | Peggy Davis |
| Sports and Entertainment | Larry Fleisher Memorial Foundation Prize | For extraordinary achievement in the area of Sports and Entertainment Law | Samuel Estreicher |
| Tax | David F. Bradford Memorial Prize | For the best paper in the field of Taxation | Lily Batchelder |
| Tax | Harry J. Rudick Memorial Award | To recognize a J.D. student who has demonstrated excellence in Taxation throughout his/her years at NYU School of Law | Lily Batchelder |
SPECIALIZATION AWARDS (LL.M.)
| Category | Award | Award Description | Submit Nominations To: |
| Corporation | George Colin Award | For distinction in the LL.M. Corporation Law Program | Stephen Choi |
| General Studies | George Colin Award | For distinction in the LL.M. General Studies Program | Phillip Alston |
| International | Jerome Lipper Award | For distinction in the LL.M. International Legal Studies Program | Benedict Kingsbury |
| Labor | Seymour Goldstein Memorial Prize | For distinction in the LL.M. Labor Law and Employment Law Program | Samuel Estreicher |
| Tax | Flora S. and Jacob Newman Award (1) | For distinction in the LL.M. International Tax Program | H. David Rosenbloom |
| Tax | Harry J. Rudick Memorial Award | For distinction in the LL.M. Tax Program | Deborah Schenck |
| Trade Regulation | Frank T. Diersen Prize | For distinction in the LL.M. Trade Regulation Program | Harry First |
JOURNAL/MOOT COURT AWARDS
Recipients of journal/moot court awards are selected by the relevant journals and the Moot Court Board. We encourage editors of the student publications and Moot Court to develop internal procedures for the recommendation process. Each journal or Moot Court Board is asked to select a recipient for each award relevant to that Journal/Moot Court and to submit the name(s) to Paul O'Grady, Associate Director for Student Affairs, at paul.ogrady@nyu.edu. A full award list is available here.