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Chicago-Kent Student Theresa M. Williams Wins First SmithAmundsen Writing Award

Chicago, July 17, 2007 – SmithAmundsen is pleased to announce that Theresa M. Williams, a first-year student at Chicago-Kent College of Law, will receive the first SmithAmundsen Excellence in Legal Writing Award. The writing award is part of a $50,000 gift from Smith Amundsen LLC to Chicago-Kent to support the law school’s diversity initiatives over the next five years. The award will be given annually to a first-year student, selected by Chicago-Kent’s legal writing faculty and law firm representatives, who has written the best brief and who “adds to the diversity of the legal community.”

Theresa Williams won the first SmithAmundsen Excellence in Legal Writing Award for her appellate brief, Ellen Becker v. United States of America, a case dealing with Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues.
A native of Dorchester, Mass., Williams attended Northeastern University on an athletic scholarship and was a member of the women’s varsity track and field team. Considered “one of the best triple-jumpers in New England,” she is a recipient of the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar Award, conferred by Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine. At Northeastern, Williams earned a bachelor of science in business administration, cum laude, with a major in marketing and management. She earned a graduate degree in sports management from West Virginia State University, where she received the Jerry P. Wilkins Scholarship for Leaders. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Williams currently is completing a summer externship with U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo of the Northern District of Illinois. At Chicago-Kent, she is a member of the Black Law Student Law Association and the Christian Legal Society. In her spare time, Williams is involved with Girls in the Game, a Chicago organization that provides and promotes sports and fitness opportunities, nutrition and health education, and leadership development for girls.

The gift to Chicago-Kent that funds this award evolved from SmithAmundsen’s Diversity Task Force, a group of representatives from all areas of the firm charged with upholding and advancing firm-wide diversity initiatives. In addition to funding the writing award, the firm’s gift will support the team that represents Chicago-Kent at the Thurgood Marshall National Mock Trial Competition, sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association.

“We looked closely at factors that would result in a more diverse pool of talented lawyers to consider when hiring,” says Larry Schechtman, SmithAmundsen’s managing partner. “And we decided that providing support to students who are excellent writers or are involved in trial advocacy is the best way to do this.”

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, SmithAmundsen LLC has grown to more than 100 attorneys with offices in Chicago, Rockford, St. Charles, Waukegan, and Woodstock, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. SmithAmundsen’s attorneys share a proficiency in a broad range of practice areas. As one of Chicago’s premier litigation firms, SmithAmundsen’s success is built upon a foundation of integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to exceeding client expectations. For more information on the firm, please visit www.salawus.com.

Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution. Chicago-Kent students come from 42 states, 14 countries, and more than 230 colleges and universities. The law school is consistently recognized for its groundbreaking legal writing program, and its trial advocacy teams have won numerous regional and national tournaments.

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