2024 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: Case Western Reserve's Brooke White and Olivia Cobb

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 Case Western Reserve University School of Law: 

Outstanding Clinic Student: Brooke White

Brooke White’s work representing clients in the First Amendment Clinic in the Fall 2023 Semester exemplifies the ideals this award honors: excellence in client service, thoughtfulness, and self-reflection in the various legal, ethical, and strategic issues raised by our matters. Brooke was one of a remarkable team of students involved in a Civil Rights lawsuit against a local government body alleging unconstitutional censorship of our clients and challenging the constitutionality of the body’s public comment policy. Brooke excelled in researching the issues, drafting court filings, and negotiating with opposing counsel—all in a high-profile case involving timely First Amendment issues surrounding the First Amendment standards that apply in certain types of government forums. Brooke’s curiosity and zeal for our client’s position, along with her superb legal research, shaped the team’s views of how to best pursue our client’s claims. Brooke was also put on the spot with very little notice, preparing for and handling a call with a team of government lawyers asserting our client’s position and attempting to negotiate a potential resolution of our client’s claims. Brooke also took a role in our Clinic's efforts to engage with community partners, and presented to student journalists in Athens, Ohio about defamation and the First Amendment. Brooke is a skilled advocate, a collaborative and thoughtful colleague, and a curious student of the law. Her dedication to our clients’ matters made significant positive impacts on our clients, the community, and the state of free speech in Ohio.

 

Outstanding Externship Student: Olivia Cobb

Oliva Cobb took advantage of the myriad of experiential opportunities available to her at CWRU Law, and she handled fieldwork in particular with an impressive amount of diligence, cultural sensitivity, and client empathy. For her capstone this past fall - a graduation requirement satisfiable through a clinic or intensive capstone externship - Olivia worked full time at DNA People’s Legal Services in Window Rock, Arizona. Located on a Navajo reservation, DNA People’s Legal Services assists underserved and/or indigenous American clientele on criminal and civil matters. Interested in criminal defense work, Olivia could have selected a Cleveland-based externship or clinic placement to meet her mandatory capstone requirement. Instead, she tapped into a budding professional network to create a bold and innovative capstone experience and moved halfway across the country to complete it. This was an opportunity guaranteed to challenge her personally, intellectually, and professionally. In Window Rock, Olivia handled criminal as well as civil cases. She worked with tribal law and tribal advocates. She drafted criminal motions under pressure and time constraints. And she went to court - a lot. Olivia’s mentor, Daniela Dwyer, was “surprised to learn that [the externship] course was pass/fail” when all was said and done because “the level of effort (A+) which Olivia put into her work with [DNA] was very detailed and thorough.”