University of Wisconsin Law School Clinical Associate Professor Marsha Mansfield has been named the recipient of the 2009 Marygold Melli Achievement Award conferred by the Legal Association for Women (LAW) to recognize significant contributions to women in the law.

This is the 15th year that the Melli Award, named in honor of UW Law School Professor Emerita Marygold Shire Melli, has been conferred.

A reception to honor Mansfield will be held Thursday, April 2, 2009 at the University Club, 803 State Street, from 5 to 7 p.m., with the award presentation at 5:30.

Mansfield is Director of the Economic Justice Institute (EJI) at the Law School and directly supervises clinical students in EJI’s Family Court Assistance Project and restraining order clinic. A past president of the Dane County Bar Association, she has been deeply involved in the Bar Association’s Legal Services Committee and serves on the State Bar’s Board of Governors.

Together with Clinical Professor Ben Kempinen, Director of the Prosecution Project, Mansfield has developed the Law School’s Pro Bono Project, which matches interested students with lawyers working on pro bono cases.

A graduate of the UW Law School’s Class of 1984, Mansfield began practice at the Madison firm Lawton & Cates, achieving partner status and now serving of counsel. She began teaching pre-trial advocacy courses and general practice courses at the Law School in 1993, and in 2002 joined the clinical faculty, teaching and supervising students in the Neighborhood Law Project and Family Court Assistance Project, the latter of which she formed to enable law students to assist pro se family law litigants who do not have the means to hire attorneys.

In announcing the award to Mansfield, the Legal Association for Women stated, “Throughout her career, Attorney Mansfield has tirelessly promoted equality and social justice, advancing the interest of women in society, the legal profession, and the community.” 

When reached for her thoughts on receiving the award named in honor of Professor Marygold (Margo) Melli, Mansfield commented, "I like to think that I am following in Margo's trailblazing footsteps by my efforts to make the justice system more accessible to all, but in particular, to those women who have been victims of domestic abuse and those who otherwise would not have access to legal assistance as they attempt to navigate our court system."

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