Akron Law recognizes top pro bono and community service contributors

For the two most prolific pro bono participants in the University of Akron (UA) School of Law graduating class of 2024, it wasn’t about resume-building, it was about a commitment to community service and becoming a better lawyer.

Kelsey Jennings and Allyson Strickland were among 22 Akron Law students recognized in the end-of-the-semester celebration. Jennings and Strickland each received the annual Perantinides & Nolan Pro Bono Service Award at the ceremony. The $500 awards are presented annually to one full-time student (Jennings, 1,142 hours) and one part-time student (Strickland, 788 hours) reporting the highest number of service hours.

The 129 class of 2024 graduates donated 14,000 hours in total during their time in law school. Fifteen completed at least 300 hours of service, and another seven completed at least 150 hours. Those who completed at least 300 hours were honored with special cords at commencement. Those who completed 150 hours or more received an Ohio Access to Justice Foundation certificate and a cover letter signed by Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy. Recipients who go on to pass the Ohio Bar Examination will also be recognized at the swearing-in ceremony.

Although virtually every U.S. law school encourages students to engage in pro bono service, Akron Law is one of only about 40 that require a minimum number of pro bono service hours as a condition for graduation — 30 hours in Akron Law’s case.

“Akron Law implemented the requirement to ensure that every law student experiences the personal and professional benefits of pro bono service; to promote their future pro bono involvement as attorneys; and to provide awareness of the considerable unmet need for legal services and access to justice in our community,” said Alisa Benedict O’Brien, assistant dean for career services and strategic Initiatives. “I really can’t recall a graduate who didn’t say they valued the experience.”

See below for the full list of the class of 2024 pro bono award recipients.

Straight out of Utah

Kelsey Jennings first realized she wanted to be a lawyer in middle school, when she was the prosecutor in a fairy tale mock trial of the Big Bad Wolf. But when someone pointed out later that being a criminal attorney would mean having to view grisly crime scenes, that gave her pause —were there other kinds of attorneys? Then a high school math teacher suggested intellectual property law, which Jennings had never heard of, because she was good at math and science.

She remembered that suggestion when she was looking for a part-time work-study job as a freshman at Brigham Young University and saw a posting for a position at the university's copyright licensing office. That started her on an IP career path that landed her, first, a full-time job after graduation as a clerk for a patent attorney, and then, a seat in the class of 2024 at Akron Law. It was a guest speaker in a prelaw class that brought Akron to her attention: former Akron Law dean and then-UA president Matt Wilson.

Jennings comes from a service-oriented family. She can recall being at community service projects when she was a child.

“Coming out from Utah, I didn’t know a single person in Ohio,” she said. “Some lawyer friends in Utah had warned me how law school can just suck you in. So, I committed to myself to do some volunteer work every week so I would have some kind of outward mindset.”

The first week, she signed up for volunteer opportunities she saw in the weekly Career Connection e-newsletter. One of those was with Barberton Area Community Ministries (BACM), which operates a food pantry.

“When I went back a second time two weeks later, one of the leaders said, ‘We missed you. Where’ve you been?’ And they just became my Ohio family. They fed me a lot of the time and gave me a place to go on holidays. They supported me through my whole law school experience. When my mom came for graduation, she got to meet these people who’ve taken me in.”

A lot of Jennings’ community service hours were earned at BACM. She also volunteered at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

“People see that I volunteer and think that I’m doing it as a sacrifice. But I'm a very selfish volunteer, because I get as good of a benefit out of it as the people that I serve.”

On the practical training side, Jennings regularly assisted at the monthly Akron Law Expungement/Certificates of Qualification for Employment (CQE) Clinic as well as at the monthly pro bono legal clinic at Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. She also earned pro bono hours in the Trademark Clinic and through doing law review, trial team and moot court, mostly not for credit.

This spring, she started working at Akron-based IP law firm Renner Kenner.

“They were impressed that I already knew how to file a trademark application and had done 30 of them, thanks to the clinic.”

One to watch

While Kelsey Jennings benefited from the support of her “adopted” Ohio family, Allyson Strickland benefited from the support of her husband, Kevin, as she navigated law school, a full-time job and two young children.

Like Jennings, Strickland knew from an early age (first grade!) that she wanted to be an attorney. And like Jennings, community service had long been a passion.

“It’s close to my heart,” she said. “If there’s a gap or a need to be filled and I‘m able to do it, then I really try to participate.”

After earning her undergraduate degree from Malone University, Strickland began teaching, first in the Canton City School District and then in the Akron Public Schools (APS).

Seeing first-hand the inequities that made it difficult for some students to succeed, she became involved with committees and programs where she could help larger numbers of young people. At APS, she became coordinator of the Path to High School Success program.

After seven years in the classroom, Strickland shifted to the administration building in 2018, first in the Office of School Improvement and currently in the Student and Family Services Department. In 2020, she became a member of the City of Akron's Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce's education committee. Her work on that committee reignited her youthful intention to become an attorney. 

Despite the demands of law school, Strickland maintained her community service commitments with her service-oriented sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and through registering voters as a member of the NAACP. As director of outreach ministries at the Remedy Church, she arranged to host a Saturday Expungement/CQE Clinic and combined it with a food pantry provided by the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

While Strickland continues in her position at APS, what might be next after passing the bar?

“I’m still considering exactly what I’ll do, but I know it will be something involved with education or individual rights. I do have a Constitutional Law certificate,” she noted.

The Greater Akron Chamber has already tagged Strickland as one to watch. In August 2023, the chamber recognized her as one of its “30 for the Future” professionals between the ages of 25-39 who demonstrate dynamic leadership, diversity and commitment to the region.

To learn more about pro bono options at The University of Akron School of Law, visit here.

Exceptional Service Award Recipients - 300 Hours

Service Award Recipients - 150 Hours