Alumni Awards, Recognitions and Appointments

The 113th United States Congress includes four newly elected Georgetown Law alumni, bringing the total number of Law Center graduates serving in Congress to 13. Rep. Mazie Hirono (L’78), D-Hawaii, has been elected to the Senate. She joined incumbents Mark Kirk (L’92), R-Ill.; Majority Whip Dick Durbin (F’66, L’69), D-Ill.; and Patrick Leahy (L’64), D-Vt. On December 18, Leahy was sworn in as president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in line in succession to the presidency after Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

John Delaney (L’88), D-Md., Lois Frankel (L’73), D-Fla., and Ann McLane Kuster (L’84), D-N.H., have been elected to the House of Representatives. Law Center graduates re-elected to the House include David Cicilline (L’86), D-R.I.; John Dingell (C’49, L’52), D-Mich.; Peter Visclosky (LL.M.’82), D-Ind.; Chris Van Hollen (L’90), D-Md.; Frank Wolf (L’65), R-Va., and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (L’66), D-Md. 

Joel Barrows (LL.M.’93) was recently appointed an Iowa District Court judge by Gov. Terry Branstad. Prior to his appointment, Barrows served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. 

Angel Kelley Brown (L’92) was nominated to the Massachusetts Superior Court by Gov. Deval Patrick and confirmed in January. An associate justice of the Brockton District Court since 2009, Brown also practiced law for 16 years. She is an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School. 

Shannon Frison (L’95), who serves as an associate justice of the Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court, was also just confirmed as a judge on the Massachusetts’ Superior Court. She previously served as an officer and a lawyer in the United States Marine Corps, where she handled both criminal and civil litigation on assignments in Hawaii and North Carolina.  

Texas Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (L’74) was honored with the Texas Access to Justice Legislative Hero Award in October. The Legislative Hero Award recognizes legislators who have significantly advanced access to justice in Texas. 

Jason Kander (L’05) writes that he was “recently elected Secretary of State in Missouri” and that, at 31, he is “the youngest statewide officeholder in the United States.” Kander is a former U.S. Army captain who served in Afghanistan as a military intelligence officer. He lives in Kansas City with his wife Diana Kander (L’05).

Samyr Laine (L’10) advanced to the final round in the Olympic triple-jump, competing for Haiti in London in 2012.  

In January, White House Chief of Staff Jacob J. “Jack” Lew (L’83) was nominated for the post of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He was confirmed on February 27. For more on Lew, see the “Spotlight” profile on the last page of this issue.

Michelle Mitchell (L’09) received Trinity Washington University’s Woman of Genius Award for outstanding leadership in international law and pro bono legal services. She also delivered the keynote remarks at the university’s Cap and Gown Convocation. Mitchell is an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Hughes, Hubbard & Reed. 

Marc H. Morial (L’83) has been appointed to the President’s Advisory Council for Financial Capability by President Barack Obama. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Clark Walton (L’05) was named the American Bar Association’s National Outstanding Young Lawyer for 2013. Walton currently serves as counsel for the Charlotte law firm of Alexander Ricks and is also an adjunct professor at the Charlotte School of Law, where he teaches courses on cybercrime and evidence. Walton has worked on pro bono cases representing Iraqi nationals who assisted the U.S. government in Operation Iraqi Freedom and has organized the Wills for Heroes program in North Carolina, which provides wills and estate planning documents free of charge to first responders.

Derek Webb (L’12) received the American Inns of Court’s prestigious Warren E. Burger Prize for his essay “The Original Meaning of Civility: Democratic Deliberation at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.” The award is given every year to unpublished articles of 10,000 to 25,000 words that address issues of legal excellence, civility, ethics and professionalism.