UT Law students, former professor honored for Legal Clinic service

Associate professor emeritus Jerry Black and a number of students were recently recognized for their contributions to the University of Tennessee College of Law’s Legal Clinic during the past academic year.

Black, who retired in spring 2014, was the recipient of the Bernstein-Ritchie Award, which recognizes extraordinary service to the Legal Clinic. Black joined the faculty in 1975 and was an integral part of the clinic and served four times as director, in addition to helping establish the Knoxville Legal Aid Society. Black has received numerous awards for his work, including recognition by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2003 for his lifelong contributions to criminal defense education.

The Bernstein-Ritchie Award is named for Bernie Bernstein, a Knoxville lawyer who taught at the Legal Clinic in its infancy, and Robert Ritchie, also a Knoxville lawyer who taught at the clinic.

Additionally, the following students were recognized as distinguished clinical students:

Advocacy Clinic

  • Thomas Smith

Appellate Litigation Clinic

  • Michael Davis
  • Richard Graves

Business Clinic

  • Jamie Gordon
  • Jack Parker
  • Corbin Payne

Expungement Clinic

  • John Baxter

Immigration Clinic

  • Shelisha Steele

Innocence and Wrongful Convictions Clinic

  • Richard Stooksbury

Mediation Clinic

  • Eric Evans
  • Eileen Forsythe

Non-Profits Clinic

  • Amaobi Enyinnia
  • Donielle Hubbard
  • Shawn Ross

Trademark Practicum

  • Michael Ransom

Wills Clinic

  • Amber Jones
  • Lauren Smith

Founded in 1947, UT’s Legal Clinic is the longest-running of its kind in the nation and allows students to learn by doing—representing clients in need and helping resolve legal disputes under faculty supervision.