2023 Award Winners
Each year Northwestern Pritzker Law awards a variety of student awards and prizes including writing prizes, academic grade-based prizes, and community awards. Congratulations to this year's recipients.
Student Graduation Awards
It is a beloved graduation tradition for the graduating class to nominate and vote on the winners of the annual Student Awards, which recognize students for a range of accomplishments.
Courage Award
Awarded to the student who has shown the greatest courage in surmounting obstacles to completing his or her education
Sarah Elizabeth Wolf-Knight
Global Legal Profession Award
Awarded to the LLM student who has most exemplified standards of professionalism and has made the greatest contribution to the global legal profession
Zehui Yan
Leadership Award
Awarded to the student who has made the greatest contribution to leadership in the student community
Bradford McGann
Legal Profession Award
Awarded to the student who has made the greatest contribution to professional responsibility and to the practice of law
Sarah W. Chase
Service Award
Awarded to the student who has shown the greatest dedication and commitment to public service and the practice of law
Marian Virginia Woznica
Victor Rosenblum Award
Awarded to the LLM student who has done the most to uphold the traditions of the Law School
Waded Mobarak de la Cruz
Franco Jofre Ricignuolo
Wigmore Key
Awarded to the student who has done the most to uphold the traditions of the Law School
Sarah Turner
(on behalf of all the members of the Class of 2023 Graduation Committee)
Academic Prizes
Northwestern Pritzker Entrepreneurship Prize
Awarded to a second- or third-year law student who most exemplifies Northwestern Pritzker Law’s spirit of innovation, entrepreneurial drive, and integrity
Kat Drake
Fall 2022David Kohan-Ghadosh
Spring 2023John Paul Stevens Prize for Academic Excellence
Awarded annually to the law student who graduates with the highest GPA in their class
Jacqueline Marie O’Brien
Rivers Casino Criminal Justice Award
Awarded to a law student who has demonstrated exemplary work in the Bluhm Legal Clinic through the representation of underserved individuals
Lauren Stapleton
The David S. Ruder Prize
Awarded to a student who intends to work in the public interest post-graduation, or after a judicial clerkship, and has logged the highest number of public service hours at the finish of their 2L year
Rachel Ensign
Raoul Berger Prize
Awarded annually to the law student who submits the best paper in the Senior Research Program
Michael Bellis
for their paper "Structural Direct Democracy"Barnet & Scott Hodes Prize
Awarded to a law student who writes the best paper on an aspect of the law of local government
Kathleen Naccarato
for their paper "Private Patrolling at the Boundaries of Public Duty"Leigh B. Bienen Prize
Awarded to the student who has written the best note or comment that has been selected for publication in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Jacqueline Marie O’Brien
for their paper "Beyond Due Process: An Examination of the Restorative Justice Community Courts of Chicago" (forthcoming)Kirkland & Ellis Scholars
The Kirkland & Ellis Scholars program was established in 2012 through the generosity of alumni and friends at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The annual awards recognize the excellence of the top student in each section of the first-year substantive required classes. The program also extends to the highest achieving 2Ls in certain upper-level courses, including M&A, Securities, Private Equity, and Non-ITA Evidence.
Fall 2022
Joshua Levinson (JD-MBA ’25)
Civil ProcedureSamuel Pargament (JD ’25)
Civil ProcedureRachel Rucker (JD ’25)
Civil ProcedureColleen McAulay (JD ’25)
Civil ProcedureGarrett Jochnau (JD ’25)
ContractsGabriella Cirelli Goldstein (JD ’25)
ContractsJackson Gilliam (JD-MBA ’25)
ContractsGarrett Jochnau (JD ’25)
Criminal LawAnshika Niraj (JD-MBA ’25)
Criminal LawSean Craig (JD ’25)
Criminal LawKathleen Naccarato (JD ’24)
EvidenceCherie Zhang (JD ’24)
Mergers & AcquisitionsTyler Anderson (JD ’24)
Mergers & AcquisitionsAnthony Vitucci (JD ’24)
Private EquityMegan Hullman (JD '25)
PropertyMatthew Johnson (JD ’25)
PropertyRyan O'Sullivan (JD ’24)
Securities RegulationCharles Mavon (JD ’25)
TortsAreeb Asif (JD ’25)
TortsRachel Rucker (JD ’25)
Torts
Quinn Bessette (JD ’25)
TortsSpring 2023
Joseph Wolf (JD ’25)
Constitutional LawAreeb Asif (JD ’25)
Constitutional LawDaniel Sullivan (JD ’25)
Constitutional LawIlgi Cesur (JD ’25)
Constitutional LawMegan Hullman (JD ’25)
ContractsGrace Lim (JD ’25)
Criminal LawPaul Piazza (JD ’24)
EvidenceEwurama Aramansa Okai (JD-PhD ’24)
EvidenceAshlyn Dentz (JD ’24)
Mergers & AcquisitionsGarrett Jochnau (JD ’25)
PropertyAndrew Loso (JD ’25)
PropertyJustin Auh (JD ’24)
Securities RegulationCherie Zhang (JD ’24)
Securities RegulationFall 2023
James Suarez (JD ’26)
Civil ProcedureIsabel Weber (JD ’26)
Civil ProcedureVictoria Cabral (JD ’26)
Civil ProcedureSam Kaplan (JD ’26)
Civil ProcedureEvan Anixter (JD-MBA ’26)
ContractsEmily Chrisman (JD ’26)
ContractsKobe Mandell (JD ’26)
ContractsEisho Takatsuji (JD-PhD ’26)
ContractsArielle Haase (JD ’26)
Criminal LawMark Elinski (JD ’26)
Criminal LawAdam Brody (JD ’26)
Criminal LawAdam Brody (JD '26)
PropertyAryana Swanson (JD ’26)
PropertySamuel Lanzer (JD ’26)
TortsElizabeth James (JD ’26)
TortsJonathan Freeberg (JD ’26)
Torts
Dana Meskan (JD-LLM IHR ’26)
EvidenceNina Holl (JD ’25)
EvidenceSamuel Pargament (JD ’25)
Mergers & AcquisitionsMichael Van Gorp (JD ’25)
Mergers & AcquisitionsSophie Morrison (JD ’25)
Private EquityMichael Judah (JD ’25)
Securities RegulationLowden-Wigmore Prizes
The Lowden-Wigmore Prizes were established by the Frank O. Lowden (Class of 1887) in honor of his relationship with Dean John Henry Wigmore. The prizes are awarded annually to members of the student body for their ability to marshal authority, present arguments effectively in written form, and speak lucidly and convincingly in public. These awards go to students for the best written contributions to each of the Law School's legal journals as well as the final round Moot Court participants.
Journal Prizes
Hannah Ruth Friedle, (JD '23)
"Treaties As a Tool for Native American Land Reparations" (forthcoming)Journal of Human Rights
Joshua Lustig (JD '23)
"Rethinking Equitable Estoppel in Patent Law"Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property
Sierra Anderson (JD '23)
"Criminalizing ESG: A Framework to Hold Corporations Accountable for incorrect ESG Disclosure"(second place contribution to JCLC)
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Rachael Kristina Cox (JD '23)
"Obey or Abey: An Empirical Examination of Abeyance Agreements in Public School Discipline"Northwestern University Law Review
Patrick Hecker (JD '23)
"Legally Alone: The Redeemability of Guardianship and Recommendations Toward Equity of Access"Journal of Law and Social Policy
Grant Limbert Glazebrook (JD '23)
"Friendly Skies, Unfriendly Terms: Class Action Waivers and Force Majeure Clauses in Airline Contracts of Carriage"Journal of International Law and Business