AALS Announces 2024 Section Award Winners

The Association of American Law Schools is proud to announce the winners of its 2024 section awards for excellence in legal education.

The awards are hosted by several of the association’s 107 sections that are organized around various academic disciplines and topics of interest. This year’s winners will be acknowledged during an awards ceremony at the 2024 AALS Annual Meeting on January 4.

“AALS sections are dynamic academic communities and important facilitators of our mission of advancing excellence in legal education,” said AALS President Mark C. Alexander, Arthur J. Kania Dean and Professor of Law at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. “I am pleased to announce the following individuals who have been recognized by their sections for exceptional achievement in legal scholarship, teaching, mentorship, and service.” 

The 2024 AALS section award winners (as of November 15) are: 

Section on Academic Support Impact Award

  • Ashley London, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University 

Section on Academic Support Legacy Award 

  • Russell McClain, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law 

Section on Administrative Law Emerging Scholar Award 

  • Todd Phillips, Georgia State University Robinson College of Business 

Section on Aging and the Law Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Lawrence Frolik, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Section on Aging and the Law Emerging Scholar Award

  • Genevieve Mann, Gonzaga University School of Law

Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution New Voices in Dispute Resolution Award 

  • Henry Wang, Florida State University College of Law 
  • Ashley Votruba, University of Nebraska Department of Psychology 

Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution Best Scholarly Article 

  • Leslie Bellwood, Anthony Ostlund Law Firm 
  • Mitchell Zamoff, University of Minnesota Law School 

Section on Animal Law – Excellence in Animal Law: Scholarship-Teaching-Service Award

  • Steven Wise, Nonhuman Rights Project

Section on Antitrust and Economic Regulation Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Harry First, New York University School of Law
  • William Kovacic, The George Washington University Law School

Section on Balance & Well-Being in Legal Education Annual Award 

  • Marjorie Silver, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center 

Section on Civil Procedure Junior Scholarship Award 

  • Luke P. Norris, University of Richmond School of Law 
  • Honorable Mentions: Seth Endo, Seattle University School of Law and Monica Haymond, Harvard Law School 

Section on Communication, Media, and Information Law Career Achievement Award 

  • David Anderson, University of Texas School of Law 

Section on Comparative Law Mark Tushnet Prize in Comparative Law

  • Rose Rameau, Georgia State University College of Law

Section on Criminal Law Junior Scholars Paper Competition 

  • Anna VanCleave, University of Connecticut School of Law 
  • Honorable Mentions: Daniel Harawa, New York University School of Law and Renagh O’Leary, University of Wisconsin Law School 

Section on Election Law John Hart Ely Prize in the Law of Democracy

  • Richard H. Pildes, New York University School of Law

Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession Judith Welch Wegner Award 

  • Deborah Jones Merritt, The Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law 

Section on Evidence John Henry Wigmore Lifetime Achievement Award 

  • Paul Rothstein, Georgetown University Law Center 

Section on Family and Juvenile Law Achievement Award 

  • Dorothy Roberts, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School 

Section on Federal Courts Daniel J. Meltzer Award

  • Vicki Jackson, Harvard Law School
  • Judith Resnik, Yale Law School

Section on Federal Courts Best Untenured Article Award

  • Payvand Ahdout, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Honorable Mention: Matthew Shapiro, Rutgers Law School

Section on International Human Rights Nelson Mandela Award

  • Dinah Shelton, The George Washington University Law School 

Section on International Law New Scholar’s Award 

  • Melissa Stewart, University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law 

Section on Jurisprudence Hart-Dworkin Award 

  • Benjamin Zipursky, Fordham University School of Law 
  • John Goldberg, Harvard Law School

Section on Jurisprudence Article Award

  • Courtney Cox, Fordham University School of Law

Section on Jurisprudence Future Promise Award

  • Steven Schaus, University of Michigan Law School

Section on Law and Religion Harold Berman Award for Excellence in Scholarship

  • Xiao Wang, University of Virginia School of Law

Section on Law and South Asian Studies Award 

  • Deepa Das Acevedo, Emory University School of Law 

Section on Law and Sports Award 

  • Dionne Koller, University of Baltimore School of Law

Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information Award 

  • Janet Sinder, Brooklyn Law School 

Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care Distinguished Community Service Award

  • Lindsay Wiley, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law

Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies Chai Feldblum Award 

  • Robyn Powell, University of Oklahoma College of Law 

Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research Section Award 

  • Sue Liemer, Elon University School of Law 

Section on Litigation Practitioner Award 

  • Kathryn Fort, Michigan State University College of Law 

Section on Litigation Scholar Award 

  • Donna Shestowsky, University of California, Davis School of Law 
  • Scott Dodson, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco 

Section on Minority Groups C. Clyde Ferguson, Jr. Award 

  • Frank Cooper, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law 

Section on Minority Groups Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Award 

  • Ngozi Okidegbe, Boston University School of Law 

Section on Minority Groups Impact Legacy Award 

  • Penelope Andrews, New York Law School 

Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Excellence in Pre-Law Advising Award 

  • Lauri La Pointe, University of California, Berkeley 

Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Programmatic/Organizational Changemaker Award 

  • Suffolk Law School Pre-Law Achievers Network 

Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Unsung Hero Award 

  • Gayla Jacobson, City University of New York School of Law 

Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Up-and-Comer Award 

  • Danielle Saavedra, Texas Tech University School of Law 

Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice Award 

  • Becki T. Kondkar, Tulane Law School 

Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice Emerging Leader Award 

  • Darcy Meals, Georgia State College of Law 

Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award 

  • Catherine Greene Burnett, South Texas College of Law Houston 

Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues LGBTQ+ Individual Inclusive Excellence Award 

  • Libby Adler, Northeastern University School of Law

Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues LGBTQ+ Institutional Inclusive Excellence Award

  • Stetson University College of Law

Section on Student Services Peter N. Kutulakis Award 

  • Nancy Benavides, Florida State University College of Law

Section on Taxation Lifetime Achievement Award 

  • J. Clifton Fleming, Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School 
  • Patricia Cain, Santa Clara University School of Law 

Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Section Award 

  • Daniel Linna Jr., Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law 

Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Inaugural Technology & Ethics Award 

  • Jessica de Perio Wittman, University of Connecticut School of Law 
  • Kathleen Brown, Charleston School of Law 

Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education Technology Mentorship Award 

  • Dennis Kennedy, Michigan State University College of Law 
  • Kirsten Davis, Stetson University College of Law 

Section on Torts and Compensation Systems William L. Prosser Award 

  • Kenneth S. Abraham, University of Virginia School of Law 

Section on Women in Legal Education Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award 

  • Martha Minow, Harvard Law School