2010 Lawrence W. I'Anson Award Given to Ashley Crenshaw and Stephen Van Stempvoort
2010 Lawrence W. I'Anson Award Recipients Ashley Crenshaw '10 and Stephen Van Stempvoort '10 with Dean Douglas Photo by Colonial Photography
Ashley Crenshaw '10 and Stephen Van Stempvoort '10 received the Lawrence W. I'Anson Award, the highest award given by the Law School's faculty, during the Law School's graduation ceremony on May 16. In his remarks, Dean Davison Douglas told the audience that this year two students were especially deserving of the award, which is given "to a member, or members, of the graduating class who show strong evidence of great professional promise through scholarship, character, and leadership."
The recipients, he added, also shared the distinction of being tied for second in their class.
Douglas noted that Crenshaw ‘10 served as a member of the William and Mary Law Review and as Chair of the Commencement Speaker Committee. She also was an involved member of the Student Interview Committee that assisted with faculty appointments.
He noted that her work experiences while in law school included positions at both McGuire Woods and Troutman Sanders in Richmond, the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Next year, Crenshaw will serve as a judicial law clerk for Federal District Court Judge James Spencer.
Van Stempvoort ‘10 also served on the William and Mary Law Review and was a Constitutional Law Teaching Assistant. He received the highest grades in Torts, Evidence, and Family Law.
While in law school, he gained work experience at the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, the Attorney General of Virginia's Solicitor General's Office, the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia, a prosecutors' office in Newport News, and McGuire Woods in Richmond.
Dean Douglas noted that Van Stempvroot will serve as a judicial law clerk for Federal District Court Judge Glen Conrad.
Both graduates, he told the audience, "have demonstrated tremendous professional promise" and, he said, the Law School community looks forward to following their careers.