Cleveland Reporter

Every spring, National Jurist selects a handful of the most impressive law students from the nation’s 200 law schools for the honor as the nation’s “Law Students of the Year.” Making the list of eight honorees this year was CWRU School of Law 3L Sydney Warinner.

Read what National Jurist had to say about why Warinner made its elite list:

“Want an example of high praise? Here is high praise: ‘In the history of our law school, very few students have ever accomplished as much, or made such a significant impact as Sydney Warinner.’ That comes from the school’s co-deans, Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf. A third-year, Warinner serves as executive notes and comments editor of the Case Western Reserve law review. She is also the executive director of the law school’s Yemen Accountability Project. Working under the supervision of International Chief Prosecutor James Johnson, Warinner heads a team of 55 law students who are preparing white papers and case files for eventual international prosecution of war crimes in the Yemen conflict. Her moot court experience has been particularly noteworthy. As a first year, she not only beat out a number of upper-class students to gain a spot on the Jessup Moot Court team but also led the team to a top-three ranking out of 600 teams in the international rounds. As a 2L, she led the team to the National Final Four and a top-14 finish in the international rounds. This year, she captained the team [which won the Best Brief Award and was Regional Champion]. Warinner has also gained extensive experience during law school as an ACLU Immigrants Rights Project intern; a federal judicial extern at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio; and a Klatsky Fellow for the Disability Rights Division of Human Rights Watch in New York City.”

Desiring to continue her work in public interest, Warinner recently accepted a permanent position through the Attorney General’s Honors Program to work in the Central Office of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where she worked last summer. “For me, it is a dream job and the culmination of an extraordinary legal education,” she said.

“We are very proud of Sydney and her contributions to the public interest, as well as her moot court successes,” said Co-Dean Jessica Berg. “Sydney is very deserving of these honors” added Co-Dean Michael Scharf, who noted that this is the third time in five years that a CWRU law student was a finalist for the National Jurist Law Student of the Year honor. 

Original source can be found here.