A number of University of Tennessee College of Law students, staff, and faculty were honored for their achievements and service at the annual Honors Banquet on February 27.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Dean Doug Blaze during the event. “Tonight we celebrate what makes us special—the people of the College of Law: the students, faculty, staff, our alumni, and our friends. We celebrate the best in what we do and who we are.”
Student awards
Brady Cody received the Knoxville Bar Auxillary Award, presented to the law student who attained the highest scholastic average during the first year of study.
Caleb Tindell and Daniel Martinez each received a Herbert L. David Award, which recognizes exceptional academic performance during the second year of study or the most academic progress during the second year of study.
Jeremy Ray received the Merchant & Gould Intellectual Property Award, which recognizes extraordinary achievement in the area of intellectual property.
Katherine Smalley received the Harshfield Award for Excellence in Civil Procedure, which recognizes exceptional performance in the Civil Procedure I and/or Civil Procedure II curriculum.
James Spencer Cook received the Patrick Hardin Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the Labor and Employment Law curriculum.
Casey Duhart and Brianna Penfold each received a Cunningham Legal Research Award, which recognizes exemplary first-year performance in the Legal Research curriculum.
Thomas Smith received the Cunningham First-Year Best Brief Award, which recognizes superior writing of a legal brief by a first-year student in the Legal Process II curriculum.
Mitchell Ashkenaz received the Cunningham Excellence in Legal Writing Award, which recognizes the upper-class student who wrote the best piece of legal scholarship.
Porter Durham received the Class of 2004 Concentration in Business Award, which recognizes the top student in the business transactions concentration.
Danny Morrell received the Charles Miller Award for outstanding achievement in Civil Advocacy, presented annually in memory of the late Charles Henderson Miller, a distinguished member of the faculty and the founding director of the college’s Legal Clinic.
Sharon Eun received the James Powers Award for outstanding proficiency in Criminal Advocacy, presented each year in memory of the late Jim Powers, a promising student attorney of the Legal Clinic who was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1988.
Justin Day and Courtney Orr each received a Jerry P. Black Jr. Student Clinic Attorney Award, a new award that recognizes the exceptional work of outstanding student attorneys in the Legal Clinic. The award is named for Jerry Black, who was a distinguished member of the clinical faculty from 1976 until his retirement in 2014.
Caleb McDaniel received the Tennessee Attorney General’s Award, recognizes the accomplishments of students who have excelled in Trial Advocacy.
Rachael French received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Trial Advocacy Award, presented to the student who has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in trial advocacy through outstanding performance in the Trial Practice, Evidence, and Pleading and Procedure curriculum.
Courtney Orr received the Pryor Award of Excellence in Advocacy, which recognizes the top student in the college’s concentration in advocacy and dispute resolution.
Christa Currie received the National Association of Women Lawyers Award, which recognizes a third-year student who exhibits outstanding academic achievement, motivation, professionalism, and future promise of significant contributions to the advancement of women in society and the legal profession.
Casey Duhart received the Susan B. Anthony Award, sponsored by the East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women and bestowed upon a student based on his or her academic achievement and commitment to enhancing the progress of women, especially the legal rights of women.
Juan Cristóbal Quevedo Gutierrez received the Baker Donelson Student Leadership Award, which recognizes students who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in any area of law school endeavor.
Trina Hughes received the Frank Benson Creekmore Memorial Award, which recognizes students for their future promise of professional success as practitioners of law in Tennessee.
Abby Burke received the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Prize, which recognizes students who have demonstrated an uncommon commitment to public service, either through their activities as students or their formal plans beyond graduation.
Faculty Awards
Professor Glenn Reynolds received the Yarbrough Faculty Award for Writing Excellence, which recognizes the single best piece of scholarly work recently published by a member of the College of Law faculty, for his book, The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself.
Valorie Vojdik, professor and director of clinical programs, received the W. Allen Separk Faculty Scholarship Award—which recognizes an outstanding body of work in any area of legal research written by a member of the College of Law faculty—for her article, “Sexual Violence Against Men and Women in War: A Masculinities Approach.”
Associate Professor Maurice Stucke received the Carden Award for Outstanding Scholarship, which recognizes a faculty member for a distinguished record of scholarship developed over a period of years.
Reba Best, professor and associate director of the Law Library, and Professor Carol Parker each received a Carden Award for Outstanding Service, which recognizes faculty members whose contributions to the College of Law have been significant and selfless.
Professor Joseph Cook received the Carden Teaching Award, a new award that recognizes faculty members with careers of outstanding teaching and whose contributions to students extend far beyond the classroom.
Alex Long, professor and associate dean for academic affairs, received the Bass, Berry & Sims Faculty Award, which recognizes a member of the College of Law faculty for his or her outstanding service to the bench and bar.
Adjunct Professor Regina Lambert received the Outstanding Adjunct Teacher Award, which recognizes outstanding teaching by a member of the College of Law’s adjunct faculty.
Associate Professor Wendy Bach received the Harold Warner Outstanding Teacher Award, which recognizes and honors a member of the College of Law’s full-time faculty.
Staff Awards
Chris Bombardo, director of technology services, received the Professional Staff Award, which recognizes an outstanding member of the college’s administrative staff.
Suzanne Smalley, library supervisor, received the Law Library Support Staff Award, which recognizes an outstanding member of the Law Library staff.
Cindy Farabow, administrative support specialist, received the College Support Staff Award, which recognizes an outstanding member of the College of Law staff.
Nearly 175 students received Certificates of Academic Excellence, presented to the students who received the highest grade in each of the law school courses taught during the 2013–2014 academic year.