Graduate joins highly selective Honors Program for Attorneys in Washington D.C.
By Brandi Palmer
This fall, Lane Cryar, J.D. ‘14, will be joining the Department of Homeland Security’s Honors Program for Attorneys in Washington, D.C. The Honors Program for Attorneys is a highly competitive program open to application by recent law graduates as well as federal or state judicial law clerks with no more than two years of clerkship experience. Only four attorneys from a large pool of highly qualified applicants were selected for Cryar’s Honors Program class.
Lane Cryar J.D. ’14 is among a select handful of attorneys joining the Honors Program in Washington, D.C.
Cryar was a member of the Honors Program and Valedictorian of her class at Stetson University College of Law, as well as executive editor of the Stetson Law Review, an editor with the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law, and student president of Stetson’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund.
While in law school, Cryar made helping others a priority, performing over 500 hours of public service in addition to completing a Public Service Fellowship and serving as a mentor to numerous law students. She volunteered for and supported causes that ranged from raising money and awareness for veterans’ groups to advocating for animal rights and supporting victims of domestic violence.
“The common thread among the different efforts I supported during law school was a desire to make an impact for the public good,” said Cryar.
Cryar heads to D.C. after completing a two-year clerkship for Judge Charles R. Wilson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
“I wanted to make sure I was using my law degree in a meaningful way, so I focused on obtaining a position after my clerkship that would permit me to do important work with significant responsibilities,” said Cryar.
Cryar said she did some research to discover that federal government attorneys in honors programs seemed to have more opportunities to do the kind of work she wanted to do. She was drawn to the prospect of continuing work in the public sector and wanted a position where she felt that she could make a difference. The Department of Homeland Security’s Honors Program seemed like an ideal fit.
During their two-year term, Honors Attorneys rotate through various divisions and components within the department. The opportunity to gain exposure to a variety of different practice areas ranging from national security law, immigration law, and litigation to international law, intellectual property law and environmental law was appealing to Cryar.
Cryar, who said that her interests have grown even more varied in the past two years working at the appellate level, said, “I wanted a position where I would be challenged and continue to learn more about the law, while still being able to do meaningful work that makes a difference in the lives of others. This was a great match for me.”
Post date: Aug. 1, 2016
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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