Graduates and Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Achievements During 2023 Diploma Ceremony

During this year’s diploma ceremony, members of the Class of 2023 as well as faculty members and administrators were presented with awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements and contributions to the Law School.

Select Awards for Faculty and Administrators

THE DEAN’S MEDAL OF RECOGNITION
Helen Hadjiyannakis Bender, Associate Professor of Law

Dean’s Medal of Recognition 2023 | Prof. Helen Hadjiyannakis Bender from Fordham Law School on Vimeo.

This award, the highest honor the Dean can confer, is presented to a person selected by the Dean who has shown outstanding commitment to the ideals of the Law School through their service to its community across their career.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Howard M. Erichson, Professor of Law

Teacher of the Year Award 2023 | Prof. Howard M. Erichson from Fordham Law School on Vimeo.

This award is presented by the Student Bar Association to a professor who students identify as being a master teacher.

ADJUNCT TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD
James Jalil, Adjunct Professor of Law

Adjunct Teacher of the Year 2023 | James Jalil from Fordham Law School on Vimeo.

This award is presented by the Student Bar Association to the adjunct professor selected by students for excellence inside and outside the classroom.

Awards for Members of the Class of 2023

Graduating Fordham Law students were also recognized for their academic achievements, public service, and competition victories. The award recipients included:

Sofia Johnson for the Class of 1911 Prize, presented to a student in the graduating J.D. class for the best essay submitted on a legal subject that is designated annually by the Dean. The topic for this year’s essay posed questions about the impacts of climate policy on our communities and asked submissions to address those policies on marginalized communities and populations;
Thomas Rukaj for the Abraham Abramovsky Award, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in recognition of their outstanding performance in Trial Advocacy;
Ashley Qamar for the Joseph R. Crowley Memorial Award, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class who has shown academic achievement and concern for others, as demonstrated by participation in volunteer activities during their career at the Law School, best emulating the qualities of the late Dean Crowley;
Peter C. Angelica for the Mary Daly Prize in Legal Ethics, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class who publishes the most significant writing relating to lawyers’ professional responsibility and/or the legal profession;
Caitlyn Fontana for the Dean’s Special Achievement Award, given to a student in the graduating J.D. class who has made a singular and distinctive contribution to the Law School community;
Anne Brodsky for the Donald Magnetti Award, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in recognition of their outstanding public commitment and contribution to those beyond the Law School community;
Aleezah Merali for the Feingold Family Prize, recognizing a commitment to public service by a graduating J.D. student, not only throughout their Fordham Law career, but a broader commitment beyond the Law School through their choice of employment following graduation;
Julia Tedesco for the Adele Monaco Memorial Award, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class in the evening division who has made a positive impact on the lives of evening division students through the demonstration of compassion, courage, determination, and commitment to public service;
Luis del Rosario and Anastasia Lacina for the Walter B. Kennedy Award, presented to J.D. members of the Fordham Law Review in recognition of extraordinary service that exemplifies the commitment to legal excellence of Professor Walter D. Kennedy, who served as the Law Review’s moderator from 1935 to 1945;
Tarique Zachariah for the Keith C. Miller Memorial Award, presented to a member of the graduating J.D. class who has demonstrated unselfish dedication to the Fordham Moot Court program;
Grace Brennan, Kaleb Underwood, and Mikaella Evaristo for the Lawrence J. McKay Prize, awarded to the graduating J.D. students who represented the Law School in the National Moot Court Competition;
Mikaella Evaristo for the Kimberly Greer Singer Award, awarded to a member of the National Moot Court Competition team who possesses outstanding oral advocacy and legal writing skills as well as demonstrated an interest in teaching or mentoring students;
Elizabeth Gudgel for the Monsignor James J. Murray Prize For Achievement In Public Service, given to a graduating Fordham Law School J.D. student who is committed to a career in public service;
Gina Kim, Lauren Schadt, and Bané Toure for the Ann Moynihan Award, presented to members of the J.D. graduating class in recognition of their outstanding performance in the Law School’s Clinical Program;
Katharine Keane for the National Association of Women Lawyers Award, which recognizes an outstanding J.D. law graduate who has demonstrated academic achievement, contributed to the advancement of women in society, promoted issues and concerns of women in the legal profession, and earned the respect of the Law School community;
Jamel Gross-Cassel for the Parchomovsky-Siegelman Student Graduation Prize, awarded to the graduating J.D. student who produced the best work of scholarship published in one of Fordham Law School’s journals;
Fernando Ramos for the Robert Aram Renzulli Prize in Criminal Law, presented to the graduating J.D. student who has excelled in the area of criminal law during their three years at Fordham Law School and who intends to engage in public service criminal law work upon graduating;
Alec Kramer for the Jorene Frankl Robbie ’79 Memorial Legal Research Prize, presented to a graduating student who has demonstrated excellence in the Advanced Legal Research Program;
Seyed Mohammad Hosseini for the Graduate Student Community Prize, awarded to the graduating LL.M. or M.S.L. student who made a singular and distinctive contribution to the Fordham Law graduate student community; and
Will Lanier for the Eugene J. Keefe Award, presented to the person or organization that has made the most important contribution to the Fordham community.