PORTLAND, Maine – The University of Maine School of Law recently presented the inaugural Shur-Frinsko Award for Municipal Law and Local Governance to law student Sara N. Moppin. The award is named after two prominent Maine lawyers, Barnett I. Shur and F. Paul Frinsko, in recognition of their achievement in the practice of law and their leadership in municipal law.
The Shur-Frinsko Award is given annually to a student at the law school who has demonstrated academic excellence and accomplishment in the area of municipal law, land use, and local governance, with commitment to and capacity for further contribution to the field.
Moppin recently completed her second year at the University of Maine School of Law and will receive her J.D. in May 2008. She is the Research Editor for the Maine Law Review and a member of the Environmental Law Society. Throughout the current academic year, she worked on research and analysis of Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission and its implications for economic development and public policy.
Moppin earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from Loyola University in New Orleans, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2003 and was a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the National Collegiate Historical Honor Society.
The Shur-Frinsko Award is made possible by the law firm of Bernstein Shur, the family of the late Barnett I. Shur, the Nelson & Small corporate family, the Walter Corey family, and a number of individual donors. Funds for this award are held by the University of Maine School of Law Foundation.
“The Shur-Frinsko Award provides a boost for the Law School’s role in local and regional affairs,” said Peter Pitegoff, Dean of the University of Maine School of Law. “It is a worthy honor for Barnett Shur and Paul Frinsko, and we are grateful for the generous support from their friends and colleagues, including the Shur family, the Nelson & Small corporate family, the Corey family, and the law firm of Bernstein Shur.”
Over the last 40 years, the University of Maine School of Law has developed a reputation for graduating leaders in law, business, and public service in Maine and throughout the nation. For more information, visit mainelaw.maine.edu.
Bernstein Shur is one of northern New England’s largest multi-service law firms, with more than 85 attorneys in Portland and Augusta, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire. Established in 1915, the firm provides practical legal counsel to a diverse group of public and private clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur’s commercial, litigation, and municipal practices are complemented by the services of the firm’s affiliates, which include Bernstein Shur Government Solutions LLC, a government consulting firm; Stratex LLC, an environmental and engineering consultancy; and Monument Title Company.