The Honorable Kathleen M. Williams, JD '82, was given the Alumni Achievement Award, and Stephanie Carman, JD '01, and Steven Davis, JD '82, were recognized with the Alumni Leadership Award by the Law Alumni Association.
"The Law School alumni are an incredible group of people, and the Law Alumni Association is very proud of the nearly 20,000 alumni we have around the world," said Elizabeth Honkonen, JD '98, president of the Law Alumni Association. "We also have a terrific state and federal judiciary here in South Florida, and it is always a special occasion when we can honor some of our alumni and judges for their substantial contributions to the profession and to our community."
Honkonen described them as "true role models."
Williams is a district judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She previously served as a federal public defender in the same district. A Palm Beach County native, Williams is a two-time University of Miami alumna and the first female defender appointed not only in the district but in the state. Williams litigated a wide range of matters including immigration, complex fraud and national security. She has received several awards: the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers gave Williams its Founder's Award in 2007; the American Civil Liberties Union presented her with the C. Clyde Atkins Civil Liberties Award in 2003; and in 2009, she received Miami Law's Center for Ethics and Public Service's Lawyers in Leadership Award. Active in moot court in law school, Williams returns often to Miami Law to judge the competitions.
Carman is an associate at the law firm Hogan Lovells and past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Dade County Bar Association. Carman regularly represents corporate, governmental and individual clients in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels. She also advises health industry clients on the defense of False Claims Act litigation and on regulatory compliance matters. While at Miami Law, she interned with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange, Division of Enforcement. She served as a judicial intern for the Hon. Donald L. Graham and the Hon. Ursula Ungaro of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Additionally, Carman served as the executive editor of the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review. She was a Dean's Fellow, a member of Bar and Gavel, and served on the Student Bar Association.
Davis is a partner at the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP and past president of the Dade County Bar Association. Before joining the firm, Davis was trial counsel for the state of Florida. He has tried more than 20 jury cases and 50 non-jury cases in the course of his career. In addition, Davis has argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court and the Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal in Florida. The South Florida Legal Guide has listed Davis as one of its "Top Lawyers" every year since 2004. While a student at Miami Law, he served as the articles and comments editor for the University of Miami Law Review.
Miami Law's Career Development Office also presented two awards during the judicial reception. The Honorable Beth Bloom, JD '88, a circuit judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, and the Honorable Edwin G. Torres, magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, received the Judicial Award of Recognition.
Alumni Received Awards at Miami-Dade Judicial Reception
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL 33124
305-284-2211