<img src="/site/files/oldnewsfiles/StephanieStecklair235px.jpg" width="235" height="200" alt="StephanieStecklair235px" class="FloatRight">Widener University School of Law congratulates Delaware student Stephanie Stecklair, who recently received a 2014 Law Student Award, given by the Philadelphia Bar Association Public Interest Section.<br><br>The award is given to students from Philadelphia-area law schools who demonstrate a commitment to public service.<br><br>Stecklair, a third-year, extended-division student who will graduate with pro bono distinction in December 2015, resides in Philadelphia. During her time in law school she has dedicated herself to issues surrounding domestic violence, particularly indigent women and the legal conflicts they face. She has served as an advocate for Philadelphia Legal Assistance in the Custody and Support Assistance Clinic, which provides legal assistance to indigent Philadelphians, and worked at Women Against Abuse Inc., a Philadelphia nonprofit providing legal assistance to domestic violence victims.<br><br>For the past 18 months she has served as the Widener Law Delaware Domestic Violence Research and Advocacy Fellow. In that role she has served in a law clerk capacity to the director and staff attorney for the school’s <a href="/Academics/ClinicalProgramsandProfessionalTraining/Clinics/DelawareCivilLawClinic.aspx">Delaware Civil Clinic</a>, and has assisted with the client intake process at the New Castle County, Del. courthouse.<br><br>Stecklair is a member of the law school’s <a href="/CampusLife/ActivitiesandOrganizations/OtherDelawareOrganizations/PublicInterestLawAlliance.aspx">Public Interest Law Alliance</a>, and will co-chair the spring 2015 annual auction to raise money for public-interest student scholarships. She is also vice president of the <a href="/CampusLife/ActivitiesandOrganizations/OtherDelawareOrganizations/WomensLawCaucus.aspx">Women’s Law Caucus</a> and leads the annual campaign for the Martin Luther King Semester of Service.<br><br>In addition to her studies, she is a law clerk at Berner Klaw &amp; Watson LLP, a boutique family law firm in Philadelphia. <br><br>“Stephanie seizes new opportunities, readily accommodates them into her schedule, and utilizes them to reflect her principles.  She is a leader who welcomes the mentoring of those who have come before her, and who aspires to be a mentor for those who follow her,” said Professor <a href="/Academics/Faculty/ProfilesDe/HoweBarksdaleSydney.aspx">Sydney Howe-Barksdale</a>, who directs the school's <a href="/Academics/ClinicalProgramsandProfessionalTraining/PublicInterestOpportunities/PublicInterestResourceCenter.aspx">Public Interest Resource Center </a>and nominated Stecklair. “She is an exceptional person.”<br><br>Stecklair was honored Wednesday, Dec. 10 at an awards ceremony organized by the Philadelphia Bar Association Public Interest Section at the Philadelphia Marriott on Market Street.<br><br>“It was such an honor to receive this award in the presence of Philadelphia’s public interest community, including those I have been fortunate enough to work with and those I look up to,” she said. “I am humbled by this recognition and I thank Dr. Howe-Barksdale for her nomination.”