I am proud to nominate Anthony V. Alfieri, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law for this prestigious award.

The UM School of Law Center for Ethics and Public Service is an interdisciplinary clinic devoted to the values of ethical judgment, professional responsibility, and public service in law and society.

The Center provides training in ethics and professional values to the Law School and the University as well as to the Florida business, civic, education, and legal communities. The Center also provides health rights education and economic development training to low-income communities.

The Center observes three guiding principles in serving the cause of ethics, professional values, and public service: interdisciplinary collaboration, public-private partnership, and student mentoring and leadership training.

Staffed by Law School student fellows and interns under the direction of Professor Anthony Alfieri, the Center operates three practice groups and twelve projects in the fields of ethics education, professional training, and community service:

The Bar & Bench Group offers continuing legal education training to South Florida bar associations, courts, law firms, and nonprofit groups, and ethics consulting services to private and nonprofit organizations;

The Education Group teaches ethics to faculty and students in Miami-Dade County public and private schools, sponsors interdisciplinary ethics and leadership workshops at the Law School and University, and teaches an undergraduate seminar on law, public policy, and ethics in the College of Arts & Sciences; and

The Pro Bono Group administers the Community Economic Development and Design Project(CEDAD), a community-based education and technical assistance program furnishing economic development training to residents of low-income neighborhoods in collaboration with the School of Architecture, and the Community Health Rights Education Project (CHRE), an integrated teaching, research, and community service program providing health rights education to under-served communities in cooperation with the Schools of Nursing and Medicine.

The Center attracts prominent lawyers who serve as Visiting Senior Fellows, such as former Attorney General Janet Reno, who is currently serving in that capacity. It produces a variety of nationally recognized programs and seminars for law students and lawyers on cutting edge ethical issues.

Having spoken on substantive and ethical criminal justice issues throughout the nation, I can attest to the innovative and excellent work of the Center. This extraordinary undertaking is the result of the vision, dedication, and innovation of its Director, Professor Alfieri, who richly deserves this award.

Please feel free to contact me if I can provide any further information.

Respectfully submitted,

Neal R. Sonnett

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Neal R. Sonnett, P.A.

Attorneys at Law

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