2024 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: Miami's Ariana Kravetz and Jenna De Stefano

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 the University of Miami School of Law:

Outstanding Clinic Team: Ariana Kravetz and Jenna De Stefano

The faculty of the University of Miami School of Law Clinics are proud to recognize Ariana Kravetz and Jenna De Stefano with the 2024 CLEA Outstanding Clinical Team Award for their exceptional work in the Children and Youth Law Clinic. Approaching their cases with care, commitment, and enthusiasm, Kravetz and De Stefano successfully handled an administrative appeal of a denial of Medicaid Waiver benefits for a child with disabilities. They fully immersed themselves in all aspects of the case, producing solid initial drafts of work product, including legal research memos, witness scripts, discovery requests, and a proposed order. What truly distinguished them was their thoughtful integration of feedback, significantly improving each subsequent version. Eager to learn and demonstrate strong strategic thinking, they made sound decisions during the hearing regarding deviations from the planned script. They ultimately won the APD hearing, securing lifelong access to disability-related services for the client, a rare outcome despite the merits of such cases.

Among their other major accomplishments for the year were securing court-ordered visitation for a client with her sibling and another client with her parents. In both situations, visits had been stalled for various reasons, and Kravetz and De Stefano employed creative out-of-court advocacy to lay the groundwork for court approval. They also conducted excellent legal analysis in preparation for a termination of parental rights trial likely to occur in the Fall. Fostering strong relationships with all their clients, they were able to provide sound advice and legal counseling throughout the year. They also brought a high level of thoughtful reflection and intellectual curiosity to the seminar component of the class.