MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Professor Marjorie McDiarmid of the West Virginia University College of Law has received a lifetime achievement award from the Association of American Law Schools.
McDiarmid, the Steptoe & Johnson Professor of Law and Technology, was recognized for her work in pro bono and public service law.
For 35 years, McDiarmid directed and helped expand the clinical law program at WVU until stepping down in 2021. She continues to teach the law, including evidence and civil procedure courses.
“Over the course of her career and continuing today, Professor McDiarmid changed the landscape of clinical legal education and has trained hundreds of lawyers to carry those same values of service and leadership to their communities,” said Amelia Rinehart, dean of the College of Law. “She pioneered using technology to break down barriers to legal services, and she committed herself and our college to improving the lives of multiple generations of West Virginians with her vision to provide free legal assistance throughout the state. We cannot measure the impact she has had on the state of West Virginia and on the legal profession.”
Since McDiarmid joined the WVU Law faculty in 1986, the law clinics have grown from a one-room operation to nine practice areas housed in a 5,500-square-foot office suite. More than 60 percent of WVU Law’s third-year students work in a clinic, helping those in need while gaining valuable career-building experience.
Before becoming a law professor, McDiarmid held positions at the Legal Services Corporation in Northern Virginia and Seattle and the Public Defender Association in Seattle. She was a law clinic teaching fellow at Harvard University, where she earned her LLM degree. McDiarmid earned her JD from Columbia University and her BA from the University of Rochester.
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