Class of 2022 Members Honored with I’Anson, Thurgood Marshall and George Wythe Awards
Lawrence I'Anson Prize: Brian M. Sirman and Sikander Y. Zakriya
The Law School faculty awards the I’Anson Award to a graduating student or students in recognition of great professional promise as demonstrated through scholarship, character and leadership. The award is named in honor of Lawrence W. I’Anson (1907-90), who earned his undergraduate degree at William & Mary and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1974 to 1981.
Brian M. Sirman was a member of the William & Mary Law Review and received CALI Awards for his performance in Contracts, Corporations, International Business Transactions, International Law, Legislation & Statutory Interpretation and the Law & Entrepreneurship Seminar. He holds a Ph.D. in American & New England Studies from Boston University, is an adjunct instructor (online) with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, and is a past volunteer with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps and the Tennessee Medical Reserve Corps. “Brian is richly deserving of this school’s highest honor,” said one of his professors. “He’s the best student I’ve ever taught, and a wonderful person.”
At the Law School, Brian served as a teaching assistant for Contracts (Professor Ibrahim) and as an Executive Board member for the George Wythe Society of Citizen Lawyers; he has also been a member of the Business Law Society and the Christian Legal Society. After graduation, he will join Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston.
Sikander Y. Zakriya served as Executive Editor of the William & Mary Law Review and chair of the Joint Journal Competition Committee. A member of the Moot Court Team, he won the Touro Law & Religion National Tournament (and received the award for third best brief) and was a quarterfinalist in the Hunton Andrews Kurth National Championship (award for third best brief). He received the Wayne M. Lee Endowed Book Award for the highest 1L first semester GPA, and a CALI Award for his performance in Copyright Law. “Sikander is an exceptional student, a gifted writer, and a delightful person,” said one of his professors. “I know he will do remarkable things, and I am excited to see how his career unfolds.”
Sikander served as a teaching assistant (Criminal Law), research assistant, Funding Chair of PSF, Graduate Schools’ Representative for the Honor System Advisory Committee, member of the Muslim Law Students Association, and volunteer tutor/mentor for a local affordable housing community. He will clerk for the Hon. Roderick C. Young of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia before joining Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C.
Thurgood Marshall Award: Malory A. Hudson
The Law School Association gives this honor each year to graduates who exhibit the ideals of distinguished public service exemplified by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-93).
Malory Hudson is a former educator invested in empowering vulnerable communities locally and around the globe. Malory was PSF Co-Chair and Notes Editor for the William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice, and served with the Women’s Law Society. She was also a legal extern for the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, a judicial extern at the Supreme Court of Virginia, a legal intern at the CEELI Institute in Prague, and a Legal intern for the First Defense Legal Aid, Chicago, Illinois.
Malory served as Chair of PSF for two years and spent countless hours making public service internships financially feasible for hundreds of students. Despite Covid restrictions, she still raised more money than PSF had ever raised before. She has been called “a passionate, tireless warrior for the greater good, whether that target community be indigent clients through her public defense work or her peers through her work for PSF.” Malory exemplifies public service and fights to give other students a chance to serve their communities as well.
George Wythe Award: Haarika R. Reddy
The award is named in honor of George Wythe—William & Mary's and the nation’s first professor of law—and is given by the Law School each year to a graduating student in recognition of his or her outstanding and selfless service.
Haarika Reddy served as a Student Advocate in the PELE Special Education Advocacy Clinic; as a student fellow with the Center for Racial & Social Justice; as, a fellow in the Legal Practice Program; and as a research assistant (Professor Rebecca Green). She was also on the staff of the Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice; and a summer associate at K&L Gates, Washington D.C.-Baltimore.
As the first-ever Diversity Chair for the SBA, Haarika organized an anti-racism book club. She assisted in the creation of the Black History at William & Mary Law Display, participated in the Reparations Committee, organized implicit bias training and bi-monthly mental health workshops for SBA members, and externed at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Haarika has also served with the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, Women's Law Society, PSF, Student Environmental & Animal Law Society, Leadership Institute, Deans Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and SBA. “Her presence here has substantially improved this school and will have a lasting impact on the school moving forward,” said one of her recommenders. Haarika is an incoming Associate at K&L Gates.
About William & Mary Law School
Legal education in a university setting began at William & Mary in 1779. Now in its third century, America's first law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.