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

[Cheryl Fields]

Great accomplishment! He is living the life he wants! Cheryl

On 5/19/16, richard via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> 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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