2024 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: Duke's Hannah IsraelMarie and Lauryn Khaw

Each year, the Clinical Legal Education Association invites law schools to nominate students as their Outstanding Clinic Student or Team and Outstanding Externship student. This series includes submissions from law schools celebrating their outstanding students. 

From Duke School of Law: 

Outstanding Clinic Student: Hannah IsraelMarie  

Hannah IsraelMarie excelled in the Immigrant Rights Clinic and Advanced Immigrant Rights Clinic as well as leading the largest pro bono project at Duke Law. Hannah secured the lawful status of clients who had been wrongfully ordered deported, partnered with the N.C. Justice Center to submit public records requests and FOIA requests for documents on cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and oversaw pro bono projects involving more than 100 law student volunteers providing over 1,000 hours of free legal services to immigrants and refugees.  Hannah created a new partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center to assist migrants detained at the Stewart Detention Center, and volunteered over spring break in 2023 and 2024 to help secure the release of people jailed there.  In her final semester of the clinic, Hannah successfully represented her transgender Honduran client in securing a grant of asylum before an Immigration Judge with a 91.2% denial rate. Within the span of just four weeks, she finalized nearly 800 pages of pre-trial filings, which included specific and detailed individualized corroboration, multiple witness statements, medical and psychological evidence, detailed human rights and media reports, and a legal brief.  She then swiftly shifted gears to prepare her client for the final merits hearing.  Her work in every project demonstrated gold-standard representation.  Hannah has dedicated herself to public interest work through her pro bono leadership, her externships at leading immigrant rights organizations, her partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center, and her outstanding representation of clients in Duke’s clinics.  Hannah will continue serving migrant children after graduation through a two-year fellowship with the Immigrant Justice Corps.

Outstanding Externship Student: Lauryn Khaw

Lauryn has been an exemplary externship student, showing commitment not only to her work with her placement this semester, but also to the hard work of self-improvement and critical reflection that is so essential to a high-quality externship experience. This semester, Lauryn was an extern with Earthjustice, on their Sustainable Food and Farming Team. Lauryn found this placement on her own, and has been diligent and self-directed throughout the experience. Although the placement was remote, Lauren worked hard to integrate herself with the team, coming to check-ins with prepared agendas and discussion questions not only about the work, but about her colleagues as well. Her site supervisor Ashley said that she contributed immensely to the work of the team, making presentations that were accessible and informative, doing legal research that was thorough and precise, and creating work product that was helpful and professional. Lauryn was not afraid to ask questions or ask proactively for feedback, and always responded well to suggestions on how to improve her work. Lauryn was also an excellent externship seminar student, always adding thoughtful commentary to the class and showing support and encouragement for her classmates. Her reflective work showed a deep commitment to thinking about the material, and honest evaluation of how she plans to integrate her personal and professional identity as she enters the legal profession. She is going to be an excellent lawyer!