Posted: May 26th, 2023 | By: Chris Stevens, NCBA Military & Veterans Law Section Chair
The NCBA Military and Veterans Law Section is proud to announce it has awarded the 2022-2023 Kirk Warner Award for Distinguished Service to the Military and Veterans to Assistant Clinical Professor Ellie Morales.
The Kirk Warner Award seeks to recognize special individuals who have dedicated their own time both in service to the United States, and also in service to others who have served. Ellie is a more than deserving recipient of this award. Following law school, Ellie served as an active duty service member in the Army Judge Advocate General Corps, which included a 2013 deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan, where she earned the Bronze Star. She continues to serve today as an Army Judge Advocate in the rank of Major in the Army Reserves. In 2018, she was awarded the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, an honor that is presented to fewer than 30 Army junior officers each year.
Aside from her own outstanding military service, Ellie also serves as the Director of the Veterans Legal Clinic at Wake Forest Law School. The Veterans Legal Clinic trains law students on legal theory and practice by providing critical assistance to low-income former service members who need representation and advocacy to correct injustices in their military records. With Ellie as Director, the clinic has seen numerous successes, including a recent noteworthy case where the clinic represented a Korean War soldier in not only restoring his veteran status through a discharge upgrade from Dishonorable to Honorable, but also in obtaining the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge he earned on the battlefield in Korea over 70 years ago.
It is incredible work and service like this that make it hard to envision a more fitting recipient, as it is clear that Ellie’s life and career are the embodiment of what this award is about. Congratulations to Ellie on this well-earned award.
There will be a ceremony to honor Ellie on Tuesday, May 30 at 10:30 a.m. at Wake Forest School of Law. RSVP for the event here.
