Wake Forest Law Selects Amanda Spriggs Reid for the Smith Anderson Pro Bono Award for Exceptional Service

Wake Forest University School of Law student Amanda Spriggs Reid, whose passion for community service sets the standard for other law students, has been honored as the recipient of the 2023 Smith Anderson Pro Bono Award for Exceptional Service.

Smith Anderson, the largest business and litigation law firm headquartered in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, funded the establishment of the Smith Anderson Office of Community Outreach at Wake Forest School of Law, which houses the Pro Bono Project and the Public Interest Law Organization. Since 2015, Wake Forest School of Law has annually honored an outstanding law student who, through their pro bono service, exhibits passion, creativity, dedication and commitment to serving people in need.

"Pro bono work is a crucial component of the legal profession, and it is encouraging to see the next generation of attorneys, like Amanda, committing their time and skills to serving their community," said Byron Kirkland, managing partner of Smith Anderson.

Amanda’s pro bono service demonstrates her deep commitment to improving the lives of others. Since entering law school she has volunteered more than 140 hours of public service. She is the executive director of Wake Forest School of Law's Public Interest Law Organization. (PILO). PILO is a student-run organization that works in collaboration with Wake Forest School of Law to promote the school’s tradition of training future lawyers to serve not only their clients, but their communities, state, and nation.

Among Amanda’s other volunteer activities, she serves as the Pro Bono Project’s Community Outreach Coordinator at Wake Forest School of Law, connecting pro bono projects and community needs, as well as served as co-coordinator of the Pro Bono Disability Project. As co-coordinator of the Pro Bono Disability Project, she established a new community initiative, in partnership with community organizations and businesses, to inform individuals with disabilities about applying for Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance.

She also serves as President of Wake Law’s OUTLaw LGBTQ Organization, President of Wake Law’s If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, and Treasurer of Wake Law’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.

To be an eligible candidate for the Smith Anderson Pro Bono Award for Exceptional Service, a student must:

• Be a Pro Bono Honor Society member (society members are students who complete 75 hours of pro bono service over a three-year period or 50 hours in one year.
• Have 100 or more pro bono hours within three years or 75 hours or more within one year.
• Exhibit the passion, creativity, dedication, and commitment to serving those in need in a way that results in demonstrated impact or increased access to legal information among an underserved population.

"Amanda’s dedication to pro bono work demonstrates a deep commitment to the importance of using the law to help others," said Nell Newton, dean of Wake Forest School of Law. "It sets a high standard for her fellow law students to follow."

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