Awards & Recognition
Service Award Programs
Dean’s Community Service Award (40 hours community service)
Law students must perform at least 40 hours of law-related or non-legal community service while in law school. Students are responsible for arranging their placement(s) with appropriate organizations within the university or community. An appropriate organization is one that is generally recognized within the community or school as committed to public service, does not charge a fee for service provided, and does not compensate the student for the service given. Service must be conducted during the school years or summers after a student becomes a full time law student. When a student performs community service hours, the student should submit a completed copy of the hours worked form after accumulating at least 40 hours of volunteer work at a qualifying community organization and submit it to Felecia Linton, flinton@law.ua.edu, by November 1, for December graduates, and no later than April 1, for May graduates. Award recipients will be recognized at the annual PII awards reception and at graduation.
Application for Dean’s Community Service Award
Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP) Student Award (50 hours law-related service in AL)
To earn the VLP Student Award, law students must volunteer for at least 50 hours at an approved law office that services primarily indigent persons in the state of Alabama. Approved law offices include offices of Legal Services, Inc., Legal Aid of Birmingham, Financial Literacy Initiative (SaveFirst), the Volunteer Ombudsman Program, and the Elder Law and Domestic Violence Clinics at the University of Alabama School of Law. Law students requesting approval for other law offices should submit an Application for Placement Office Approval to: Linda Lund, Executive Director, VLP, Alabama State Bar, 415 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36101, Attn: Committee on Access to Legal Services; Subcommittee on Student VLP. Applications must be filled out and submitted to Linda Lund once the hours are completed.
Application for VLP Student Award
Order of Samaritan (40 hours community service + 50 hours law-related service)
To earn Order of Samaritan, a student must complete at least 90 hours of community service with 50 of those hours being law-related community service. The 50 hours of legal services must be in a non-profit or non-governmental organization anywhere in the world. For example, a student may qualify for Order of Samaritan by earning both the Dean’s Community Service Award and the Alabama State Bar’s VLP Student Award. Service must be conducted during the school years or summers after a student becomes a full time law student. Paid work and externships do not count. To apply for admission into the Order of the Samaritan, a student should complete the application and submit it to Felecia Linton, flinton@law.ua.edu, by November 1, for students graduating in December, or no later than April 1, for students graduating in May. Award recipients will be recognized at the annual PII awards reception and at graduation.