Penn State Law to recognize outstanding alumni at 10-year anniversary event

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Law will recognize two alumni with awards at its 10-year celebration dinner on Oct. 29 in the Lewis Katz Building. The two new honors, which will be awarded annually to alumni who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the continued success of the law school, were created this year to mark the 10-year anniversary of legal education on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Receiving the Penn State Law Leadership Award is the Honorable D. Brooks Smith, a 1976 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law, the predecessor law school to Penn State Law. This award honors an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, commitment, and dedication to Penn State Law. The recipient’s actions culminate years of service and reflect the school’s values of professional integrity and community service through exceptional merit, honor, and influence within the legal profession.

Smith has been a federal judge for more than 25 years, and next week will be appointed as the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is an adjunct professor at Penn State Law, where he teaches the Class Actions Seminar, and was named a Penn State alumni fellow in 2011. Smith also serves as chair of the Penn State Law Board of Advisers, and is actively engaged with law students and the advancement of the law school. In addition, Smith is a member of the American Law Institute, and he has served by appointment of the chief justice of the United States on two U.S. Judicial Conference Committees: The Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules and The Committee on Space and Facilities.

Dominic I. Rupprecht, a 2010 graduate of Penn State Law, is this year’s winner of the Penn State Law Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes an individual’s extraordinary service to Penn State Law to directly benefit its alumni, students, and the community. The award honors a person who has made exceptional contributions of time, talent, or other assistance for the benefit of the Penn State Law community.

Rupprecht is an Associate at Jones Day Law Firm in Pittsburgh, where he focuses his practice on complex litigation in federal and state courts. He has also participated in the defense of suits filed under the False Claims Act and is active in the firm’s pro bono efforts. He participates in the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and has represented indigent veterans through the Allegheny County Bar Foundation Veteran’s Legal Clinic. He is a member of the boards of the Penn State Law Alumni Society and the Lawrenceville Hospitality Association.

Rupprecht and Smith will receive their honors at Penn State Law’s Celebration Dinner at 7:00 p.m. on Oct. 29. The event is part of an entire weekend of festivities organized to celebrate 10 years of legal education in University Park. Alumni and friends are invited to join the celebration. Visit pennstatelaw.psu.edu/10-years for a complete agenda and registration information.