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TU Law students honored at Oklahoma Bar Association annual meeting

Three University of Tulsa College of Law students were honored on Nov. 6, 2019, during the TU Law Alumni Luncheon at the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Bar Association in Oklahoma City:

Grayson Kirk: OBF Fellows Scholarship

Kevin McIlwain: OBF Chapman-Rogers Scholarship

Vic Wiener: OBA Outstanding Student Award

“TU College of Law is pleased to honor Grayson Kirk, Kevin McIlwain and Vic Wiener,” said Dean Lyn Entzeroth. “These three students have excelled in law school academically and have served as role models for other students. They are very worthy recipients of the honors bestowed on them today.”

Grayson Kirk

Grayson Kirk grew up in Oklahoma and pursued pre-law postsecondary studies in the state. After completing an associate degree in psychology at Tulsa Community College, she then earned a bachelor of social work from Northeastern State University. Before choosing to embark on a legal career, Kirk worked as a care coordinator at the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health, a child welfare assistant at the Department of Human Services and an intern at the Family Safety Center, among other positions.

Currently a 2L at TU Law, Kirk has been involved in several student organizations, including OutLaws, TU Law’s LGBTQAI+ student organization; Women’s Law Caucus; and served as the 1L delegate for TU Law’s reproductive justice organization, If/When/How. As a director of the Board of Advocates, Kirk helped her team take silver in the Family Law Negotiation and bronze in the Trial Skills competitions. Kirk also received a Tulsa County Bar Foundation Law School Scholarship.

“It is incredibly humbling to receive the OBF Fellows Scholarship,” commented Kirk. “Public interest has always been a passion of mine, and TU has fostered a seamless transition from my undergraduate degree in social work to now helping others in the realm of legal services. I’m incredibly grateful for this scholarship and the numerous opportunities afforded to me through TU.”

During law school, Kirk has externed with the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, and she currently works with Project Commutation at the Tulsa County Public Defender, along with research clerking for Henry + Dow. After law school, Kirk foresees possibly working in family law or criminal law. Outside of her studies, she is an avid tennis player and enjoys getting involved in community projects.

TU Law students Grayson Kirk, Kevin McIlwain and Vic Wiener
Grayson Kirk, Kevin McIlwain and Vic Wiener

Kevin McIlwain

“I am honored to have been selected to receive the OBF Chapman-Rogers Scholarship,” said Kevin McIlwain. “I’m thankful for the faculty and staff at TU Law. They spend each day investing in and celebrating students’ academic and professional achievements.”

Presently in his final year of law school and working as a clerk for SolomonSimmonsLaw (a firm specializing in civil rights litigation), McIlwain spent his youth in rural east Texas. After graduating with a bachelor of arts in political science from Baylor University, McIlwain served for several years in Teach for America, teaching special education mathematics at McLain High School in Tulsa. During that time, he helped to implement an innovative mathematics pilot program and also collaborated in designing initial curricula for Crossover Preparatory Academy, an all-boys school in North Tulsa.

At TU Law, McIlwain serves as vice president and executive director of the Public Interest Board. He is a multiple Faculty Honor Roll honoree and has received the CALI Award for Excellence in Legal Writing III. Experiential learning has also been a major part of McIlwain’s education. In spring 2019, he participated in the Lobeck-Taylor Community Advocacy Clinic as a licensed legal intern advocating in court for the rights of domestic violence victims. He also held a judicial externship with the Honorable John E. Dowdell at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, as well as a civil rights litigation externship at Riggs Abney.

TU Law students Kevin McIlwain, Grayson Kirk and Vic Wiener
Kevin McIlwain, Grayson Kirk and Vic Wiener

“My time at TU Law has provided ample opportunity to cultivate my career aspiration and establish valuable relationships with peers, professors and the larger Tulsa community,” McIlwain noted. Once he graduates and passes the bar, McIlwain is looking forward to leveraging those connections and experience while he forges a career as a civil rights lawyer in Tulsa. Keeping a healthy balance between life and work, McIlwain also intends to continue playing basketball, traveling widely and spending time with his wife, Rebekah Campbell-McIlwain.

Vic Wiener

Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Vic Wiener holds a bachelor’s in gender and women’s studies from Warren Wilson College. Prior to entering TU Law, Wiener worked at Youth Services Tulsa, including four years as coordinator of the organization’s LGBTQ program. Wiener’s passion for youth rights inspired them to attend law school and has since led to summer clerkships with the National Center for Youth Law and Juvenile Law Center.

Presently editor-in-chief of the Tulsa Law Review and secretary of immLaw, Wiener formerly served as the president of OutLaws, TU Law’s LGBTQAI+ student organization. They have earned six CALI awards and twice traveled with immLaw to Texas to provide pro bono legal services to immigrants seeking asylum.

When they received word of their award, Wiener remarked, “I am honored the TU Law faculty selected me as the OBA Outstanding Senior Law Student for 2019. I am humbled because countless faculty members have supported and advised me, helping me become the student I am and ensuring I can pursue my professional goals. Law school has been challenging, but I am so grateful for my time at TU.”

In addition to their busy life as a TU Law student, Wiener has sung with the Tulsa Chorale since 2011 and currently serves on its board. In 2016, Wiener cofounded the non-binary transgender support group at Oklahomans for Equality, which they continue to facilitate.


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