Omar J. Alaniz, Esq. to Receive 2012 American Inns of Court’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Omar J. Alaniz, Esq., has been selected to receive the 2012 American Inns of Court’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service. The award will be presented by Michael A. McConnell, Esquire, at the American Inns of Court’s annual Celebration of Excellence, which will be held at the Supreme Court of the United States on October 20.

Given in the name of the former associate justice of the Supreme Court, the Sandra Day O'Connor Award for Professional Service honors an American Inns of Court member in practice ten or fewer years for excellence in public interest or pro bono activities. The award annually honors an Inn member for exemplary service and honors Justice O'Connor for being a paragon of professional service throughout her distinguished career, exemplifying legal excellence, civility, ethics, and professionalism. Alaniz was nominated for his dedicated service to the legal profession, through both his work and his community involvement.

Alaniz is a senior associate in the bankruptcy section of Baker Botts LLP’s Dallas office. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he teaches advanced bankruptcy law and creditors’ rights.

Alaniz uses his extensive legal background for community service as well, logging over 700 hours of pro bono work in the past two years. He was one of the lead developers of MoneyWise Texas, a comprehensive financial education program for Texas high schools designed to teach students how to make and keep a budget.

Alaniz earned his BA in Economics from Austin College and his JD from the University of Texas School of Law. Alaniz has been a member of the John C. Ford American Inn of Court since 2005. He was a founding member of the Bankruptcy Trial Skills program, a multi-day CLE program designed to provide substantive and practical litigation skills, and the 2010 Best Special Project award winner for the John C. Ford Inn. He was selected as one of the American Bar Association’s National Outstanding Young Lawyers in 2011.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, fosters excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills. Today there are 367 chartered American Inns of Court in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. There are more than 29,000 members nationwide encompassing a wide cross-section of the legal community, including federal and state judges, lawyers, law professors, and law students.