Two alumni of Cornell Law School and its First Amendment Clinic—Connor Flannery ’23 and Steven Marzagalli ’22—were awarded the Jackson Distinguished Alumni Award at the clinic’s annual Bootcamp held on August 29 and 30, 2024. The award, named after the clinic’s founder and current director, Mark Jackson, A.B. ’81, J.D. ’85, recognizes exceptional work done by clinic alumni as co-counsel on clinic matters.

Flannery, now an associate at Dechert, has co-counseled with the Clinic on three separate matters. He drafted a motion to intervene and unseal that led to the release of an important federal court document on behalf of media outlet the Bucks County Courier Times. He also argued in a New York appellate court for access to applications of judicial candidates for positions appointed by the New York City mayor and in a Pennsylvania trial court for access to settlement records in a wrongful death suit. Flannery is currently working on an appeal in the latter matter.

“Since my first semester, I’ve admired the work, work ethic, and kindness of the Cornell First Amendment Clinic and considered my time with the clinic to be a tremendous gift, personally and professionally,” Flannery said. “To receive the Jackson Distinguished Alumni Award, on top of everything the clinic has already given me, is an exceptional honor. I look forward to continuing to work with the clinic and continuing to learn from its dedicated and talented lawyers, to whom I am incredibly grateful.”

Marzagalli, an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, drafted motion papers in a New York trial court case seeking access to the investigative file concerning allegations of misconduct by the New York Police Department’s top uniformed officer and he co-supervised and mentored clinic students working on briefing and preparing for a court hearing in that same case. Marzagalli is currently counseling a media outlet client on a corporate restructure.

Marzagalli says he “applied to the clinic to work on cases like New York Times v. Sullivan and protect the First Amendment, which I believe is critical to our ability to learn and grow, individually and as a society.” Marzagalli’s advice to the next generation of clinic students is to “learn everything you can during your time in the clinic and aspire to help educate the world as our clinic’s brilliant and incredibly humble founder, Mark Jackson, has. I know I will.”

“The idea behind our clinic’s alumni network is to encourage our students to continue to play some role in furthering First Amendment freedoms by working with the clinic—even as they pursue their careers in other disciplines,” said Jackson. “No one has exemplified that commitment more effectively or consistently than Steven and Connor.”

Heather Murray, the managing attorney of the clinic’s Local Journalism Project, supervised Flannery and Marzagalli on cases they worked on as alumni and, prior to that, during their four semesters as clinic students. “I am honored to have played a part in preparing Connor and Steven as they hone lawyering skills that will aid them throughout their careers while representing our clients,” said Murray. “It’s gratifying for us at the clinic to have fantastic former students continuing to volunteer their time to further the clinic’s important work.”