[Ohio-talk] Derek Manners '16 wins CLEA's Outstanding Clinical Student

[richard]

Article:

 

 <http://blogs.harvard.edu/clinicalprobono/?p=9358> Derek Manners '16 wins
CLEA's Outstanding Clinical Student Award

 

Derek Manners '16 wins CLEA's Outstanding Clinical Student Award

Derek Manners J.D. '16 is the winner of the Outstanding Clinical Student
Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) of the
Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The award is presented annually
to one student from each law school for his/her outstanding clinical
coursework and contributions to the clinical community.

Manners was nominated for his work by Maine's former Attorney General and
Lecturer on Law James E. Tierney who taught him in the Government Lawyer:
State Attorney General Clinic, an externship clinic offering students the
opportunity to do legal work at various AG offices around the country. Over
the course of his three years at Harvard Law, Manners has logged over a
thousand pro bono hours in service to the community and excelled as a
clinical law student.

He began his fall 2014 semester with a placement at the State Attorney
General Office in Connecticut and continued his work through the winter and
spring semesters in 2015 as well as the spring semester in 2016. During this
time, he worked on a <massive> subprime mortgage case<>. His supervisor
reported that Derek played a "critical role" in understanding and organizing
vast amounts of data needed to bring a case against a large investment bank.
During that time, he also delved into the details of the case<> and
participated in national conference calls.

"Derek interned with my office for multiple semesters and, in short order,
proved himself to be extremely capable and hard-working," said Connecticut
Attorney General George Jepsen '80. "He assisted with a large and important
investigation, and his contributions were integral to our efforts. He
developed very strong and positive relationships with my investigative team,
and quickly grasped the legal issues at play in the case. I am grateful to
him for his service and he is deeply deserving of this recognition from the
CLEA."

Manners's direct supervisor in Hartford said: "Derek has three strengths you
do not often see in a student: great intelligence, humility and an
insatiable work ethic."

Manners, who is legally blind, traveled to his clinical placement every week
by taking a bus from Boston to Hartford and staying overnight in a hotel.
"While I have never had a student willing to make such a weekly trip to
fulfill a clinic assignment," said Tierney, "what impressed me with Derek's
work was the maturity of judgment. Although still a student, he truly served
the cause of justice."

"Derek impressed us all with his selfless devotion to his clinical work,"
said Lisa Dealy, Assistant Dean of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. "Managing
a busy clinical placement in another state while balancing other law school
courses and activities is impressive - to do so for three semesters is
extraordinary."

On news of receiving this award, Manners stated <"I thoroughly enjoyed my
clinical experiences. It was by far the most enjoyable part of my law school
career. The work we did was important and allowed me to develop my skills as
an attorney. I'm truly honored to have that effort recognized.">

In the winter of 2015, he also completed an independent clinical placement
with the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) in Baltimore, during which
he worked on a self-advocacy toolkit designed to help students having
difficulty with <accessibility issues in higher education>. Prior to
starting clinical work, he also completed a summer internship in the Office
of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense.