Inns of Court and Foundations of Practice Program Awarded the 2018 E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award


August 17, 2018

photo

From left to right: Rising 3L Tazia Statucki, SBA Chief of Staff; Susan Fine; Jayne Reardon, Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism; and rising 3L and SBA President Alicia Kingston.

The Inns of Court/Foundations of Practice program has been selected for national recognition as one of four recipients of this year's E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award, a program of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Professionalism.

The Inns of Court and Foundations of Practice programs create a fully integrated professional development program at GW Law. Together, these programs reflect the law school's culture of professional development and create a curated first-year student experience, with the Inns of Court as the centerpiece.  

The Gambrell Award judges and the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism called the program an "exemplary and innovative approach to preparing young lawyers for a life in the law by exposing them to exceptional professional development resources and role models." The Committee also complimented the program's "strong emphasis on processes ensuring development of necessary professional skills, including practice management and client service, in addition to career development."

Co-directors of the Inns of Court and Foundations of Practice Programs, Professor Todd D. Peterson and Susan Fine, Interim Associate Dean for Professional Development and Career Strategy, said in a joint statement: "We are truly honored that the ABA has recognized the Inns and Foundations professional development programs and GW Law's integrated approach to preparing students for the practice of law. We are especially grateful to our faculty, staff, and student Inn advisors. Their tremendous dedication allows first-year students to start their careers on the best possible footing. The Gambrell award will inspire us all to continue this important work."

The presentation of this award took place on August 3 at the ABA 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago, at a joint luncheon of the National Association of Bar Executives, the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and the National Conference of Bar Foundations.  

The E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Awards, administered by the ABA Standing Commit­tee on Professionalism and supported by the E. Smythe Gambrell Fund for Professionalism, recognizes the nation's exemplary, innovative, and on-going professionalism programs in law schools, bar associations, courts and other legal organiza­tions that help ensure the maintenance of the highest principles of integrity and dedication to the legal profession and the public.