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University of Richmond law student wins Virginia State Bar pro bono award

March 17, 2009

Miriam Sincell of Oakland, Md., a third-year student at University of Richmond School of Law, will receive the Virginia State Bar's 2009 Oliver White Hill Student Pro Bono Award for "extraordinary pro bono and other public service work" during her law school career.

VSB's Committee on Access to Legal Services will present the honor April 20 at the state bar's Pro Bono and Access to Justice Conference in Richmond.

Tara Louise Casey, director of the university's Harry L. Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service, described Sincell as "an ambassador of the legal profession and the law school to the Richmond community." An example of Sincell's impact, Casey said, is her work with the Street Law Project, where she recruited volunteers to teach disadvantaged youths about basic legal concepts and correct misconceptions about the law.

Sincell was one of the first volunteers with the Richmond Child Health Advocacy Program, which addresses legal needs of low-income children who are patients at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.

She also has worked with the Richmond Housing Law Project, the Christian Law Fellowship and the community service committee of the Public Interest Law Association.

Sincell plans to pursue a career in public interest law.