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

[barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com]

This is the newest guy in our legislative affairs office. Not too shabby.
Barbara Pierce 
President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
440-774-8077
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

> On May 19, 2016, at 1:55 PM, richard via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
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> Article:
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> <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.
> 
> 
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> 
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