3/13/2019

For immediate release
Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019

Contact: Constance Sweeney
Widener University Delaware Law School
302.477.2177 or [email protected]

Prestigious professional association names Delaware Law School nominee “Distinguished Law Student”

Widener University Delaware Law School congratulates Joseph D. Farris III on his selection by the American College of Bankruptcy as its 2019 Distinguished Law Student for the Third Circuit.

The award is given to a student with outstanding academic credentials and an interest in bankruptcy law. Nominations are made by law professors, law deans, and fellows of the American College within each federal judicial circuit.  All nominated students are considered by the college’s council for that circuit, which makes the award selection.  A circuit’s council may select just one student for the honor, and may do so only every other year.  The Third Circuit encompasses Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Farris will attend the American College of Bankruptcy’s annual meeting and induction ceremony on Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16 in San Diego, California, where he will have the opportunity to meet college leadership and fellows from around the country.  He will graduate from Delaware Law School in May 2019.

Helen S. Balick Professor in Business Bankruptcy Law Bruce Grohsgal nominated Farris for the honor.

Farris hails from Indianapolis, Indiana.  He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy after graduating from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He has attended Delaware Law School’s evening division while working full time for law firms and judges in the Wilmington area. Farris currently is a Josiah Oliver Wolcott Fellow working for Justice Karen L. Valihura of the Delaware Supreme Court. He will join the Wilmington firm of Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP after he takes the Delaware bar examination this summer.

The American College of Bankruptcy is an honorary professional and educational association of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals. It plays an important role in sustaining professional excellence and supports educational and pro bono efforts in local communities. College fellows include commercial and consumer bankruptcy attorneys, insolvency accountants, turnaround and workout specialists, law professors, judges, government officials and others involved in the bankruptcy and insolvency community.

Widener University is a metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement.  Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, applied leadership and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. Its Delaware Law School is the First State’s only law school, providing juris doctor, legal graduate, and paralegal degree programs with an emphasis on developing legal professionals who reflect the Delaware Way and its traditions of civility, integrity and mutual respect. The school offers signature programs in corporate and business law, environmental law, family health law and policy, and trial advocacy.