The Witkin Award for Academic Excellence

Recent Santa Clara University School of Law graduate Sara Townsend focused her education on intellectual property law. While in school, Sara Townsend served as the managing editor of the Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal and won the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Remedies in 2015.

Awarded by the Witkin Legal Institute at Thomson Reuters, the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence award program is available only to accredited law schools in California that have agreed to participate in the program. Participating schools must have not only received accreditation from either the State Bar of California or the ABA, but also a designated award administrator.

At the end of each semester or term, the award administrator submits the names of students who received the highest grade in a qualifying course. These courses include civil procedure, ethics, family law, bankruptcy, and remedies. When two students tie for the highest grade, award administrators must examine attendance and class performance, along with overall grade point average, to determine a single winner. Meanwhile, individual students who receive the highest grade in multiple qualifying courses can receive more than one Witkin Award.

Once winners are selected, administrators submit the list with each student’s full name and the title of the course for which he or she earned the award. Certificates are then mailed to the school with each student’s name and course and distributed to students as each academic institution sees fit.

DAWG - Helping Santa Barbara Canines Find Loving Homes

A graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, Sara Townsend served as the managing editor of the Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal. Committed to the welfare of animals, Sara Townsend volunteered with the local Dog Adoption & Welfare Group (DAWG) while attending the University of California, Santa Barbara.

With the goal of reducing euthanasia rates at shelters in Santa Barbara County, DAWG offers canines a secure, loving environment and spearheads outreach efforts focused on permanent adoption. The organization seeks to encourage adoption by providing necessary medical care and training for the dogs in its facilities. DAWG accepts homeless dogs without regard to gender, disability, breed, or age. Over the last 25 years, DAWG has helped to prevent the needless death of thousands of dogs in the Santa Barbara community. 

With the support of its volunteers, the organization has built kennels, quarantine areas, surgical rooms, exercise yards, and a state-of-the-art veterinary clinic to help care for dogs in its care. To learn more about DAWG and how you can support the organization, visit sbdawg.org.