Awards & Academic Honors | University of Miami School of Law | University of Miami (2024)

The Center for Ethics & Public Service Fellowship Prizes are given each year at the Center's spring reception to a graduating 3L fellow in each of the Center's programs. The awards are given in recognition of the excellence of their work and the commitment to their programs.

HOPE Pro Bono Challenge Award

Miami Law’s Public Interest Resource Center awards a student in each class who completed the most pro bono hours.

HOPE Commitment Community Service

Miami Law’s Public Interest Resource Center awards a student in each class who completed the most community service.

3L Awards

Exemplary Service to the Poor

This award is given 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 may be given 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 a charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, and/or 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. For more information on the Application Process, contact the HOPE office.

When warranted, and typically after four semesters as a Dean's Fellow, one or two Dean's Fellows may be recognized for outstanding dedication and service to the Academic Achievement Program and presented with a plaque acknowledging this special honor. This award is presented and the recipient designated at the discretion of the AAP Director.

Each semester students who distinguish themselves in Litigation Skills I are recognized by the legal community for their hard work and talent. These students qualify to receive prestigious awards and scholarships generously donated to the law school including:

ThomasEwaldMemorial Award

This award is given each semester to the student in Litigation Skills I who best exemplifies the devotion to high standards and ethical conduct followed by TomEwald.

John F. Evans Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 1989 in memory of John F. Evans, criminal defense attorney, former deputy chief of the US State Department's Miami Strike Force, and founding partner of the law firm ofZuckerman,Spaeder, Taylor and Evans. It is awarded each semester to a second or third year student who has expressed an interest in trial practice.

KozyakTropin&ThrockmortonScholarship

Established in 1995 by one of Miami's leading law firms, this scholarship is awarded each semester to a minority law student who has completed Litigation Skills I with an expressed interest in trial advocacy.

Marco A. Vazquez Memorial Scholarship

Established in 1996 in memory of Marco A. Vazquez, a 1993 graduate of the school of law, the Marco A. Vazquez Scholarship is awarded each semester to an academically qualified second or third year law student who has completed the Litigation Skills Program and who has demonstrated financial need. Preference is given to Cuban/American students.

Honorable Theodore Klein Endowed Scholarship

Established in 2006 in memory of Theodore Klein, an outstanding Lawyer, Law Professor, U.S. Magistrate and a Leader among his peers, this scholarship is awarded each semester to a second or third year law student who has demonstrated financial need, ability and excellence in oral and written advocacy and a commitment to public service.

American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Award

A cash award of $1,000 is given each spring to the top third year minority law student who has shown excellence in becoming a civil trial lawyer.

Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) Award

This $250 cash award is given each spring semester to the top second year law student(s) who show great promise in the practice of Criminal Litigation. The number of recipients and the amount of the award vary from year to year.

Markus Award

Miami Law alumnus Stuart Markus began practicing law in Miami in 1958 and worked as a trial attorney for 55 years. He was well-known for representing the "little guy," often without accepting a fee. After he died in late 2013 at age 81, his family established the Markus Award at Miami Law, which recognizes a student each year for outstanding work in one of the law school's in-house clinics.

CLEA Award

The CLEA award is for an outstanding clinicial team. All faculty clinicians come together each year to choose a team to win the award.

Jonathan Richter Never Give Up Award

In January 2023, the small but dedicatedMiami Law Innocence Cliniccommunity lost one of the best and brightest. A 2016 University of Miami School of Law graduate, Jonathan Richter was an innocence clinic student in 2015 and a fellow in 2016.The award will go each year to an Innocence Clinic student or students who embody Jonathan's fighting spirit and exhibit outstanding contributions to the clinic and the wrongfully convicted.