Stetson presents star Alabama litigator Sara L. Williams with professionalism award
Stetson University College of Law will present the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award to Sara L. Williams during its annual Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills Conference in May.
Williams, a star litigator in Alabama, is managing attorney for Alexander Shunnarah Personal Injury Lawyers where she practices in the areas of trucking and automotive litigation. Williams was recently awarded a $12 million judgment against the Birmingham Max Bus system in the Jefferson County Bessemer Division. Alabama Super Lawyers magazine has named her a “Rising Star” since 2011 and she was recognized by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of Birmingham’s “Top 40 Under 40” in 2017.
An adjunct professor in the Cumberland School of Law advocacy program, Williams also serves as a coach for Cumberland’s nationally ranked mock trial teams. Williams’ legacy as an advocate began early in her career. While she was still a law student at Cumberland, Williams served as chief judge of Cumberland’s Trial Advocacy Board and was a member of the National Trial Team and National Mediation team that won their region in 2006, becoming the first team to ever win every single judge’s ballot during competition. Williams and her partner also won the ABA’s National Mediation Competition in 2005, and were invited to compete at the I.C.C.’s International Mediation Competition in Paris in 2006.
The Edward D. Ohlbaum Award honors an individual whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law. The award is designed to recognize a trial team coach and program director who exemplifies the late Professor Ohlbaum’s commitment to doing things with a high degree of professionalism, integrity and competency. In 2011, Ohlbaum received Stetson’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Advocacy.
Since 1900, Stetson University College of Law has pushed the leading edge of innovation in legal education, requiring students to enroll in a hands-on trial advocacy “Practice Court” course decades before skills training became more mainstream in legal education. Stetson Law is today home to the top-ranked program in the U.S. for trial advocacy. Stetson earned an “A” for curricular offerings in trial advocacy in the winter 2017 issue of preLaw magazine.
Post date: Aug. 15, 2018
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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