On October 9, 2024, the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) will hold its Annual Awards Celebration to recognize colleagues who have demonstrated a commitment to public interest legal work. MJF’s Outstanding Service Awards were established in 1991 to honor the dedicated service, achievements, and excellence of students, lawyers in private practice or in-house settings for their pro bono work, and public interest legal service providers. MJF is pleased to announce this year’s award recipients!

• Advocate Award: Jenna Saverynski, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS)

• Direct Legal Service Award: Sarah K. Moore, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM)

• Private Practice Lawyer Award: Clinton E. Cutler, Fredrikson & Byron P.A. and the University of Minnesota Law School’s Bankruptcy Clinic

• Plunkett Christenson Law Student Volunteer Award: Benna J. Griffin, Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Lizzy Cavanaugh, University of St. Thomas School of Law; Haley Van Steenbergh, University of Minnesota Law School

This year’s Annual Awards Celebration will feature the Honorable Sarah I. Wheelock of the Minnesota Court of Appeals as keynote speaker. Judge Wheelock previously worked as legal counsel for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline College of Law, appellate judge for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Court of Appeals, and in private practice. Her experience includes litigation in tribal, federal, and state courts, as well as economic development and finance work. Judge Wheelock is a member of the Meskwaki Nation (federally recognized as the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa), and she is the first Indigenous person to sit on the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Join MJF in celebration of these outstanding legal providers at the Campus Club of the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, October 9th, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Find more information and tickets here.