Student Spotlights

A number of Harvard Law students from the Class of 2019 received special awards during the Class Day ceremony on May 29. They were recognized for outstanding leadership, citizenship, compassion and dedication to their studies and the profession.

Nancy Pinn, director of administration and student affairs in the Graduate Program, received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Appreciation Award during Harvard Law School’s Class Day exercises on Wednesday, May 29. 

Asseret Frausto ’19 is the winner of the Outstanding Clinical Student Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA). The award is presented annually to one student from each law school for outstanding clinical coursework and contributions to the clinical community.

Logan Leslie JD/MBA ’19 loved military service and planned to spend his lifetime in it. But a growing family—along with the ‘heartbreaking’ poverty and failed institutions he witnessed in Afghanistan—spurred him to serve in a different way.

Emanuel Powell ’19 is the winner of this year’s Gary Bellow Public Service Award, established in 2001 to honor Professor Gary Bellow ’60, his commitment to public service, and his innovative approach to the analysis and practice of law.

Dalia Deak ’19 is this year’s winner of the individual David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Award, given each year to the student who embodies the pro bono spirit of the late professor and exemplifies putting theory into practice through clinical work.

Radhika Kapoor LL.M. ’19 came to HLS to take advantage of Harvard’s institutional expertise in international law, humanitarian law and post-conflict stability—and to foster her love of reading.

Lindsay Bailey’19, Lisandra Novo’19 and Elisa Quiroz ’19 are the winners of the team 2019 David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award.

Richard Barbecho ’19 is this year’s winner of the Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award, granted each year in honor of Professor Andrew Kaufman, who spearheaded the pro bono requirement at Harvard Law School.

Having developed a focus on social justice growing up in Philadelphia, Liz Soltan is now using law as a means to help people who need it most.

Few people at Harvard or elsewhere manage to pack more activity into a workday than Memme Onwudiwe '19.

The Harvard Law School mock trial team of Kaitlyn Beck ’19, Tiffany Li ’21, Rahul Garabadu ’19, and Jillian Tancil ’19 competed at the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition April 11-14 in Philadelphia, PA.

HLS students spent their spring break working in legal organizations in the Boston area and across the United States and Puerto Rico, often responding to crises or disasters in local areas.

A team of students from Harvard Law School’s World Trade Organization won the North American Round of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition. The competition took place in Washington D.C., on April 10 to 14.

Harvard Law student Solange Etessami ’20 recounts her experience using her advocacy skills to help refugees seeking asylum at Moria, an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, widely known for its dire living conditions.

Roberta "Robbie" Kaplan will be the speaker for the Class Day ceremonies at Harvard Law School on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Kaplan was chosen by representatives of this year’s graduating class.

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau has received a major win in a case that may change the standard for determining attorney's fees in wage lawsuits in Massachusetts.

The seventh annual Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program brought together 53 students in Washington, D.C. last month, including five from Harvard Law School.

Though Lawfare’s masthead is stocked with seasoned legal firepower from across the country, two of the national security blog’s most widely discussed stories in the past few months were co-authored by Sarah Grant, a highly accomplished yet stunningly modest third-year at HLS.

Andrew Patterson '20 shares a reflection on his time spent working as an advocate for Legal Permanent Residents throughout the naturalization process with the local organization Project Citizenship.

Through the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, one of 30 clinics providing legal assistance at Harvard Law School, dozens of HLS students are taking on high-stakes cases for vulnerable clients.