Call for Nominations: Rodney K. Smith Pro Bono Award
The PALS Executive Board is currently accepting nominations for the 2016-2017 Rodney K. Smith Award. Please email Maggie McGowan at mwmcgwan@memphis.edu by 5pm on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 if you would like to nominate a student for the award. The nomination email needs to include the nominee’s name, class year, and a brief statement (a sentence or two is fine; you may write more if you like) explaining why you are nominating this person. Initial nominations need only be the name of a current student. After nominations are collected, Maggie will contact the nominees to get further information, as required by the PALS Constitution, to proceed with the selection process.
For your reference, we have included the portion of the PALS Constitution that specifically describes the award. If you have any questions please contact Maggie McGowan via email: mwmcgwan@memphis.edu
PALS Const. Sec. 2:
The Rodney K. Smith Award was created in 2003 by Interim Dean of the Law School, Rodney K. Smith, to honor one or more students who exemplify an ethic of giving back to the community through public service, whether through individual case service or law reform work. Dean Smith chose this method of recognition to inspire University of Memphis Law Students to engage in pro bono service as a lifelong commitment. The Rodney K. Smith Award requires legal service as opposed to general, non-law related work and is presented by PALS and the Dean of the Law School to one or more students in recognition of their exemplary pro bono legal work. The nominee must not have received any type of financial reward, which includes grants from service organizations, for his or her service. Nominations for the Rodney K. Smith must include at least one letter of reference, the Career Services Pro Bono Form with signature and contact information of the supervisor of the work, and a brief statement from the nominee as to the nature and content of their legal work.
Nominations are accepted from faculty, from organizations sponsoring student pro bono work, from PALS members, and from general members of the Law School student body. The Executive Officers of PALS will evaluate each nominee based on the amount of hours contributed and the type and quality of the work performed, and then present a recommendation to the Dean of the Law School, who makes the final decision as to who shall receive the Award. In the event of a tie, the PALS Faculty Advisor may vote on the recommendation. In the event of a conflict of interest or the appearance thereof, the affected board member(s) will recuse themselves from the decision-making.
