Rex Lee / Shawn Bentley Lunch

19th Annual Rex Lee and Shawn Bentley Award Luncheon June 5, 2019

The J. Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS) Mid-Atlantic Chapter is pleased to announce our Annual Rex Lee and Shawn Bentley Award Luncheon on June 5, 2019.  The luncheon will include the presentation of the Rex Lee Advocacy Award to Walter E. Dellinger III, former Solicitor General for the United States, and will feature Senator Mitt Romney as the keynote speaker.

The Rex Lee Advocacy Award is presented annually to one the nation's outstanding advocates whose life and legal practice reflect the values exemplified by the award's namesake, Rex Lee, a former U.S. Solicitor General, university president, and founding dean of the BYU law school.  The National Law Journal has called the Award a coveted prize with an "honor roll ... that reads like a who's who among the nation's top appellate lawyers."

The JRCLS Mid-Atlantic Chapter will also present the Shawn Bentley Public Service Awards to two deserving law students.  These awards are stipends given to law students who have demonstrated a willingness to explore a public service opportunity in the legal profession in the Washington, DC area during their law school career and who are affiliated with student chapters of the Law Society.  These public service awards and their travel to the event are funded by the generosity of lunch sponsors.

Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us for this wonderful event.

Event Details: 

• Date: June 5, 2019
• Location: Washington Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, DC
• Time: 12:00 pm. Lunch will be served.
• Ticket prices are: $60 for attorneys and their guests, $45 for public-sector lawyers, and $35 for students.
• Sponsorships are available at $2000 and $1000.  Each sponsor will be prominently listed in the program and have reserved seating at the luncheon for 6-8 people. Sponsorships help to pay for the summer stipends for student legal interns in the public sector. If you are interested in sponsoring, please write zdavis@luselaw.com.     

We hope to see you all there!

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Law Students: Apply for the 2019 $3,000 Shawn Bentley Award

The JRCLS DC/Mid-Atlantic Chapter invites law students to apply for the $3000 Shawn Bentley award for volunteer service.  The purpose of this stipend is to encourage students to come to DC to work and to participate and serve in the public sector.  In order to qualify students should be actively seeking volunteer opportunities to work in the Washington DC area for not-for-profit companies, associations or for Government.  Students should be law students and members of the JRCLS chapter at their school.

The award is named after Shawn Bentley, who spent most of his legal career working for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.  He applied his considerable talents to help pass valuable laws while at the same time being a great mentor, friend and consensus builder.  Please see the attached letter for more information on this program and its requirements.

Award recipients will be honored at the annual Rex Lee Advocacy Award Lunch hosted by the DC Chapter in Washington, DC on June 5, 2019. 

Applications are due on May 10, 2019.   

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR

THE SHAWN BENTLEY PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

Applications should be sent to Clifford Blair via email at cliff.blair@gmail.com.

Applicants should address the following award criteria in a cover letter and/or statement:

1. Prior public service sector employment both legal and otherwise.

2. Current plans for or efforts to work in public service sector legal employment, including whether you already have secured such employment for the upcoming summer in the DC/Mid- Atlantic Area [Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia].

3. Commitment to spend at least a part of your upcoming summer working in public service sector legal employment, preferably in the DC/Mid-Atlantic Area.

4. Desire to spend a part of your legal career working in the public sector.

5. Membership, participation and other involvement with the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, including the student chapter at your law school.

6. What, if any, financial assistance or other awards, grants, or scholarships have you received in connection with (a) law school and (b) your upcoming summer employment.

7. If you already have obtained employment for the upcoming summer, please provide information about the compensation, if any, that you will be receiving.

8. Please provide a written recommendation from a Dean or Associate Dean of your law school or from a law professor.

9. Please provide a resume along with your application.

Applications must be received by no later than May 10, 2019.

 Selection will be announced shortly thereafter.

The J. Reuben Clark Law Society instituted the Rex Lee Advocacy Award in 2001.  The goals of the award are to (1) honor Rex Lee and his example of excellent and ethical advocacy, as well as his great contributions to his profession and his country, (2) teach and encourage excellent and ethical legal advocacy, and (3) honor others who, like Rex Lee, have demonstrated excellent and ethical advocacy.

The Shawn Bentley Public Service Award provides stipends to law student recipients who have demonstrated a commitment to public service and a willingness to explore legal public service opportunities in the Washington, D.C., area.  It is sponsored by twelve firms and private donors and is managed by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Each year, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society hosts a luncheon and award ceremony in Washington, D.C.  Since its inception in 2001, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society has honored distinguished men and women who embody excellence in legal advocacy.  Below is a list of prior award recipients and keynote speakers at our annual Rex Lee/Shawn Bentley Awards Luncheon:

Rex E. Lee Advocacy Award Luncheon

Year	Award Recipient	Speakers
2001	Carter G. Phillips	Bill Marriott (Marriott International)
2002	Seth Waxman	Noland Archibald (Black & Decker)
2003	Theodore B. Olson	Senator Gordon Smith / Judge Samuel Alito
2004	Edwin S. Kneedler	Senator Orrin Hatch / Seth Waxman
2005	Maureen E. Mahoney	Paul Clement (SG)
2006	Michael Dreeben	Alberto Gonzales (AG)
2007	Jeffrey P. Minear	Tom Kelly (Jet Blue)/ Mike Lee / Paul Clement
2008	Barbara McDowell	Elder Bruce Hafen / Chief Justice John Roberts / Paul Clement
2009	Paul D. Clement	President Matthew Holland (UVU) / Judge Lawrence Block
2010	William T Coleman, Jr.	Justice Samuel Alito / Senator Orrin Hatch
2011	Beth S. Brinkmann	Senator Harry Reid, Sen. Mike Lee / Judge Thomas Griffith
2012	Gregory Garre	Justice Thomas Lee, Judge Sharon Prost
2013	William C. Bryson	Justice Clarence Thomas, Elder Jeffrey Holland
2014	Sri Srinivasan	Justice Elena Kagan, Susan Davies
2015	Patricia Ann Millett	Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Judge Thomas Griffith, Alex Dahl
2016	Malcolm Stewart	Panel discussion by Carter Phillips, Gregory Garre, Beth Brinkmann, and Judges Patricia Millett, Thomas Griffith, and Sri Srinivasan
2017	Michael McConnell	Anna Escobedo Cabral / Judge Jeffrey Sutton
2018	Lisa Blatt	Judge Harvie Wilkinson III