NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2011
CONTACT: ERIKA MARZORATI
517/432-6848, marzorat@law.msu.edu
MSU Law Names 2011 Outstanding Student Clinician
East Lansing, MI — Michigan State University College of Law has named Ryan Q. Kelly, ’11, as its recipient of the 2011 Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Outstanding Student Award.
The CLEA award is given annually to one student at each law school who has excelled in both the fieldwork and seminar components of a clinical course, and who has made a positive contribution to the school’s clinical community. The MSU Law Legal Clinic faculty selected Kelly for the award based on his service as “an exceptional student-lawyer and community legal educator” during his two semesters as a clinician in the Small Business & Nonprofit Law Clinic.
In a letter announcing the Law College’s nominee for the award, Small Business & Nonprofit Law Clinic Director Nicole Dandridge praised Kelly for his “hard work and dedication” in providing “diligent legal counsel to a wide array of clients with various business, nonprofit, tax, and intellectual property matters.” Dandridge also noted Kelly’s ability to identify and anticipate relevant legal issues, which she described as “a skill that is hard to teach and a skill that many law students and new graduates have not yet mastered.”
Kelly’s “great leadership and legal competence” in presenting a seminar on basic business intellectual property issues at Lansing Community College; his willingness to represent the Legal Clinic at various events for prospective and current students; and his impressive performance at the nation’s only moot court competition focused on transactional practice also contributed to his nomination.
The MSU College of Law Legal Clinic provides a high-energy, small law firm environment in which students apply their knowledge of the substantive law to real-life situations under the guidance and supervision of licensed attorneys. While discovering their niche in the field of law, student clinicians provide an important service for the betterment of the community.
Michigan State University College of Law, a leading institution of legal education with a long history of educating practice-ready attorneys, prepares future lawyers to use ethics, ambition, and intellect to solve the world’s problems. As one of only a few private law schools affiliated with a major research university, MSU Law offers comprehensive interdisciplinary opportunities combined with a personalized legal education. After 100 years as a private and independent institution, the affiliation with MSU has put the Law College on an upward trajectory of national and international reputation and reach. MSU Law professors are gifted teachers and distinguished scholars, its curriculum is rigorous and challenging, and its facility is equipped with the latest resources—all affirming MSU Law’s commitment to educating 21st-century lawyers.
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320 Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
www.law.msu.edu
2011 CLEA Award Recipient Ryan Q. Kelly
