Bryan Stevenson, professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, will receive the first Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize from Santa Clara University School of Law on March 8. The prize, which includes an award of $50,000, recognizes individuals who use their legal careers to help correct injustices and inequities.
Bryan Stevenson, professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, will receive the first Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize from Santa Clara University School of Law on March 8. The prize, which includes an award of $50,000, recognizes individuals who use their legal careers to help correct injustices and inequities.
Stevenson has represented capital defendants and death row prisoners in the Deep South since 1985 and, for the past 18 years, has directed the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative, which champions the legal rights of the poor and people of color in Alabama. He and his colleagues have helped reduce or overturn death sentences in more than 60 cases.
Considered one of the top public interest lawyers in the country, Stevenson was included in Lawdragon’s 2007 “Leading Lawyers in America” guide. In 1995, he received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Award. He is also the recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award and the ACLU National Medal of Liberty.
Stevenson received a B.A. from Eastern College in 1981 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1985. He also earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 1985. He has worked as an attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and has represented capital defendants as the executive director of the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center. He joined the clinical faculty at NYU School of Law in 1998.
Reporter Contact:
Bryan Stevenson Professor of Clinical Law NYU School of Law 212.998.6456 bstevenson@eji.org