LOCAL UGA STUDENT HONORED AT GRADUATION [James R. McNiff]

Friday, June 28, 2002 WRITER: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu CONTACT: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu LOCAL UGA STUDENT HONORED AT GRADUATION ATHENS, Ga. - Marietta-native, James R. McNiff, a May 2002 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, has received the law school\u27s prestigious William King Meadow Award. The award is given annually to the law graduate who best exemplifies the integrity, sense of responsibility and high standards of the legal profession and who has the keen sense of humor necessary to afford a proper human perspective to the resolution of legal problems. The award, established in 1991 by the will of Emily Tichenor, is named for her friend and attorney William King Meadow, a long-time partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding. During his time in law school, McNiff was active in the law school\u27s moot court and mock trial programs and earned the title of Best Oralist in the finals of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., this spring. In addition, he worked in the school\u27s Legal Aid and Defender Clinic. He also found time to establish The Scrivener, the law school\u27s newspaper. And recently, he was named to the Order of the Barristers, the national advocacy honor society. McNiff was chosen for the William King Meadow Award by fellow students and faculty. In nominating him for this award, one student described him as both a solid rock and a sturdy ship in a turbulent three year sea of legal study. Another said he posses a rare combination of compassion, integrity, honesty, humility and dry wit which makes conversation with him both enlightening and entertaining. McNiff is a 1992 graduate of Wheeler High School. He earned his bachelor\u27s degree cum laude from UGA in 1996. He is currently pursing a career in criminal law and is working as a fellow at the university\u27s Legal Aid and Defender Clinic. #