The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division presents the National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award annually to recognize an ABA young lawyer in good standing ⁽¹⁾ who exhibits:

• Professional excellence,
• Service to the profession and the bar,
• Service to the community, and/or
• A reputation for or the advancement of legal ethics and professional responsibility.

The award provides an opportunity for bar organizations to recognize outstanding young lawyer members.

The following entities may nominate one individual for the award:

1. An organization affiliated with the ABA YLD, including national, state, local and specialty affiliates;
2. A state or local bar association if it does not include a young lawyer section, division, committee or group and if no stand-alone young lawyer organization exists for its geographic area ⁽²⁾
3. The ABA YLD Executive Board;
4. A section, division, commission, committee, or forum of the ABA; and
5. The Board of the Fellows of the ABA YLD.

If you are a leader of one of the above organizations, you are invited to nominate one of your eligible and deserving members or volunteers. Your nomination must be received no later than Thursday, August 28, 2008 in electronic form (preferably as one document in either PDF or Microsoft Word format) via email at yld@staff.abanet.org. If email is not available, a copy saved on a disc can be mailed to Renee Lugo at ABA YLD, 321 North Clark Street, Suite 1800, Chicago, IL 60610 (fax nominations will not be considered). The nomination must include the following items:

• A completed ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award nomination form signed by an officer of the nominating entity. A copy of the form is available at: http://www.abanet.org/yld/awards/olyanomination.pdf
• A nomination letter from the nominating entity explaining the qualifications of the nominee and setting forth the reasons why the nominee should be awarded the ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.
• The nominee’s biographical resume, including an explanation of the nominee’s bar service, employment and professional history, service to the community, and dedication to legal ethics and professional responsibility.
• Two to four letters of recommendation. Examples include letters from the nominee’s clients, individuals familiar with the nominee’s service to the community, the nominee’s current or former employers, fellow practitioners, individuals familiar with the nominee’s service to the bar, or any other individual who can explain why the nominee should be awarded the ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.

Please include your nominee in the preparation process to ensure an accurate and complete nomination.

The ABA YLD intends to recognize the 2007-08 ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer at its February 2009 Midyear Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The Award recipient will be chosen by the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award Board, whose members consist of the Immediate Past Chair and Speaker of the ABA YLD, two individuals appointed by ABA YLD officers, three members selected by designated young lawyer organizations, and one member designated by the President of the Fellows of the ABA YLD. Members of the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award Board and current and past ABA YLD Officers and Constitutional Representatives are not eligible to receive the award.

If you have questions regarding the Award or the selection process, please contact Jill McCall at 312-988-5614 or at mccallj@staff.abannet.org. Nominees and their supporters should not contact any other member of the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award Board.

We look forward to reviewing your nomination for the ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.

(1) - The individual must have been a member of the ABA YLD for the 2007-08 bar year, which means that he or she was born after August 31, 1971 or was licensed to practice law for the first time after August 31, 2002, and that he or she has paid his or her ABA dues as of the time his or her nomination is submitted.

(2) - Some young lawyer organizations are sections, divisions or committees of the senior bar while other young lawyer organizations are stand-alone organizations. This provision allows a state or local bar association to nominate a young lawyer so long as it does not have a young lawyer section, division, committee or other young lawyer component, and so long as there is no stand-alone young lawyer organization for its same geographic region. For example, the Dallas Bar Association would not be allowed to nominate an individual for this award because a stand-alone organization, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, exists in its geographical area.

Past Recipients and Nominees