Miami Law’s Litigation Skills Program offers its students a rigorous, hands-on training, providing them with the practical skills necessary for competent professional legal service. Every year, the program’s top students are awarded scholarships and prizes. The following students were recognized this past spring semester:
Danielle Bukacheski was the recipient of the Hon. Stanford Blake Award. This $500 cash prize is awarded each semester to a student in the Litigation Skills Program who has demonstrated excellence in trial advocacy.
Ashley Knoblauch and Dara Durdic were each awarded the John F. Evans Memorial Scholarship. The $2,500 scholarship was established in 1989 in memory of John F. Evans, a criminal defense attorney, former deputy chief of the U.S. State Department’s Miami Strike Force, and founding partner of the law firm of Zuckerman, Spaeder, Taylor and Evans. It is given each semester to a Litigation Skills student who has expressed an interest in trial practice.
Sanobar Valiani was the recipient of the Honorable Theodore Klein Endowed Scholarship. The $3,500 scholarship was established in 2006 in memory of Theodore Klein, an outstanding lawyer, law professor, Federal Magistrate and a leader among his peers. It is awarded each semester to a Litigation Skills student who has demonstrated financial need, demonstrated ability, and excellence in oral and written advocacy and has demonstrated a strong commitment to public service.
The Director’s Book Award for Excellence in Litigation Skills is awarded each semester by the Litigation Skills faculty to the top performing students for their excellence in trial advocacy. The following received the award: Benjamin Butin, Jeremy Connell, Laura Curry, Victoria Diaz, Kamran Douglas, Lauren Jones, William Loveless, Timothy Mondloch, Sydney Parker, Brianna Riguera, Annick Runyon, Zachary Sherman, and Daniel Valentin.
Rachel Jozen was given the American Board of Trial Advocates Award. This award comes with a $3,000 cash prize and invitation to the next ABOTA dinner, and is given every spring semester to a student who has excelled in the Litigation Skills Program and has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and civility.
Randy Fitzgerald was awarded the Gaebe, Mullen, Antonelli & DiMatteo Endowed Scholarship. This $2,500 scholarship is awarded to a student with financial need, and who is interested in litigation skills, scholarship, and community service leadership. The recipient is selected by the director of Litigation Skills Program and the Dean of the Law School.
Wayne Selogy & Madeline Medoff were the recipients of the Litigation Skills Adjunct Faculty Scholarship. They each received $3,500. This needs-based scholarship honors excellence in advocacy, professionalism, and civility in the Litigation Skills I class. The recommendations are made by the faculty and the final determination is made by the Director of the Litigation Skills Program, in consultation with the Dean.
Leat Perez was awarded the Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton Endowed Litigation Scholarship and Award. This $5,000 award provides financial assistance for students from underrepresented communities who are enrolled in the Litigation Skills Program. The recipients are selected by the Dean of the School of Law based upon the recommendations of the Director of the Litigation Skills Program.
Arianna Diaz-Wightman and Jonathan Lesgart were the recipients of the Marco A. Vazquez Memorial Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship was established in 1996 in memory of Marco A. Vazquez, a 1993 graduate of Miami Law. The Marco A. Vazquez Scholarship is awarded each semester to an academically qualified law student who has completed the Litigation Skills Program and who has demonstrated financial need.
Dorian Vergos was awarded the Richard L. Lapidus Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund in the amount of $5,000. It is awarded to a student who has excelled in the Litigation Skills program and demonstrated a clear understanding of legal ethics.
Sarah Boger & Ann Light are the recipients of the John M. Hogan Fund for Public Interest Litigation in the amount of $5,000. To memorialize his life and legacy, the law firm of Holland & Knight established the John M. Hogan Fund for Public Interest Litigation at Miami Law. The fund provides scholarship assistance to Hogan Scholars—law students who are certified legal interns with a preference given to students who wish to be placed at Legal Services of Greater Miami or the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.
Gabrielle Argimon was awarded the Daniel S. Pearson Endowed Scholarship. This $5,000 scholarship is given to students who show great promise as trial lawyers and dedication to public service and have the highest standards of professionalism.
Alexandrai Seirafi was given the Ervin A. Gonzalez, JD ’85 Endowed Scholarship in the amount of $5,000. This scholarship was established in 2019 by colleagues and former classmates of Ervin Gonzalez and is awarded to an outstanding student of the Litigation Skills Program.
Shirley Grinstein is the recipient of the Alan Ross Memorial Scholarship. This $5,000 scholarship was established in 2018. The recipient is selected by the Dean of the Law School, at the recommendation of the Director of the Litigation Skills Program.
Rachel Jozen is the recipient of the Thomas Ewald Memorial Award. This award is given to a student who scores the most points in Trial Skills and who best exemplifies the devotion to high standards and ethical conduct followed by Thomas Ewald. This award comes with a Montblanc pen – an homage to the late Ewald, a Miami Law trial advocacy professor who was known to carry the pen in his shirt pocket.
Read more about the Litigation Skills Program at Miami Law.
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