The 11th class of Daniel Webster Scholars was officially inducted into the nationally-acclaimed Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program by the New Hampshire Supreme Court on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Justice Gary Hicks addressed the students, telling them that they were joining a program that has been recognized as a model for legal education across the country.
“That’s because it works,” Justice Hicks said.
Webster Scholars undergo an intensive, 2-year experiential program that takes the place of the traditional two-day bar exam. They have both simulated and real legal experiences, create extensive portfolios of their work, and meet with their bar examiners three times while they are in the program. Successful students are sworn into the New Hampshire bar the day before graduation. The program was the focus of a two-year study that culminated in a report from an independent think tank called the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS). The report, Ahead of the Curve: Turning Law Students Into Lawyers, recommended the DWS program for national consideration.
“This is another great group,” said DWS Program Director, Professor John Garvey. “Like the classes before them, these students seem motivated to do more than what is normally expected of them in law school. That’s how they get ahead of the curve.”
Members of the Daniel Webster Scholar class of 2018 are: Devon Ayer, Shawna Bentley, Devin Bolger, Trevor Brown, Erin Bucksbaum, Christian Burroughs, Lisa DeFronzo, Jaclyn Fisher, Nicholas Higgins, Christine Hilliard, Kelley Karnan, Nathan Kenison-Marvin, Timothy Lachance, Tyler Macdonald, Audriana Mekula-Hanson, Austin Mikolaities, Katherine Muzzy, Kayla Turner, Jane Vukmer, and William Warren.
