The award recognizes outstanding contributions and service to the legal profession.
Established in 1978, the Justitia Officium is the highest honor bestowed by the
WVU College of Law faculty.
Karlin came to West Virginia in 1975 to work in legal aid. He later opened his own
practice in Morgantown to represent victims of unlawful discrimination, workers
who were wrongfully discharged, West Virginians victimized by civil rights violations,
and those killed or injured in unsafe work places.
He has successfully represented victims of race, gender and other forms of discrimination,
injured workers and individuals denied constitutional rights. His work has established
important legal precedents in the field of employment law.
In 2006, Karlin was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellowship
of the best trial lawyers in the nation. In 2007, he was named a Fellow of The
College of Labor & Employment Lawyers as one of the country's most accomplished
attorneys in that field.
Karlin helped found and teach the first course in pretrial litigation at the WVU
College of Law. He earned his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University
of California, and his B.A. from Yale University.
Lathrop is a Professor of Law Emeritus at West Virginia University. He retired in
2012 after teaching for 33 years, specializing in tax law. During his tenure
at WVU Law, Lathrop served on numerous leadership committees and he advised moot
court teams and the international legal fraternity, Phi Delta Phi. A former
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Lathrop was also a two-time Acting Dean for
the law school.
In public service, Lathrop is a past director of the West Virginia Law Institute,
the state’s official advisory law revision and law reform agency. He also advised
organizations and state and local governments on tax issues, including the West
Virginia Tax Institute and the West Virginia Tax Commission.
Lathrop’s s career in the law spans six decades, beginning in 1964 when he was a
clerk at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut. He worked for law
firms in New York and Vermont, and spent several years with Vermont’s Department
of Taxes, including serving as Commissioner of Taxes.
Lathrop earned his B.A. and
LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) from Washington and Lee University and an LL.M. from New
York University School of Law.
-WVU-
