NALS Award of Excellence

The NALS Award of Excellence is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in association leadership and professional development. Any member, chapter, or state association may make nominations. Nominees are required to complete and submit a Personal Data Form (“PDF”) detailing professional and association experience and achievements. A panel of three non-member judges select three finalists. The judges select a winner following personal interviews with each of the three finalists, and the winner is announced during the Educational Conference and National Forum. The winner is featured in the following edition of @Law magazine.

Policies and Procedures

Deadline Dates:

Nominations due to RC – May 1
PDF Mailed to Nominees – June 1
PDF Returned to RC from Nominees – July 1
Documents to Judges – July 25
Notify Finalists – August 25

1. Nominations received after the May 1 deadline will be disqualified. PDFs received after July 1 will be disqualified.

2. Three non-members from the legal field shall be requested to serve as judges. The names of the judges shall be submitted to the NALS President for approval.

3. Following the deadline for receipt of PDFs, all qualified nominations will be submitted to a review panel comprised of Oklahoma Association Executives by July 25. The panel will review the nominations and, using the Weighted Criteria Grading Form, will evaluate the PDFs and select three finalists.

Rules and Regulations

NALS Award of Excellence

1. Any member in good standing of NALS who has at least three (3) years legal experience (with the exception of current members of the NALS Board of Directors, current NALS Award of Excellence Chair, and former first place winners) is eligible to participate in the NALS Award of Excellence program.

2. All nominees will be judged on the following basis:

A. Years of Experience in Legal Profession 75 points 19% of total
B. Association Achievements 125 points 31% of total
C. Professional Activities 85 points 21% of total
D. Education 95 points 24% of total
E. Other 20 points 5% of total
TOTAL 400 points 100%

3. Any member, chapter, or state association may nominate one candidate for the NALS Award of Excellence. A nominee may or may not be the current winner of the local and/or state comparable awards. All nominations must be on the approved form and received by NALS by May 1 (via email, fax, or U.S. mail).

4. Following the receipt of all nomination forms, a PDF will be sent to each nominee.

5. To be eligible for evaluation, each nominee must submit four copies of the following:

A. A completed PDF
B. All published materials referred to in Section V.B. of the PDF
C. No more than three (3) letters of recommendation

These items should be received by the Resource Center no later than July 1 (via email, fax, or U.S. mail). Any nominee whose entry has been disqualified shall be notified, with the reason for disqualification.

1. All qualified nominees will be submitted to the review panel who will select three finalists.

2. Each of the three finalists will be notified by telephone. Each finalist will receive an information form to be completed and returned to NALS. In the event any finalist is unable to attend the National Forum, the panel will select an alternate who will be notified and who will then become a finalist.

3. The identity of the three finalists shall be kept confidential until each finalist has been notified.

4. Three non-member judges shall conduct personal, private interviews with the finalists during the National Forum. There shall be only one award. In the case of a tie, the judges shall reevaluate each finalist and make a final decision. The recipient of the NALS Award of Excellence shall be announced at the National Forum.