Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Experiential Learning and Professor of Law Mary-Beth Moylan
Frances Newell Carr Award for Professional Excellence, Women Lawyers of Sacramento

Moylan’s impact on the community and legal profession can be felt throughout the region, from long-lasting relationships with students to establishing a free legal support program.

Women Lawyers of Sacramento recently recognized her long-time dedication with their most prestigious honor—the Frances Newell Carr Award for Professional Excellence.

The award is given to an outstanding lawyer, judge or scholar who has achieved professional success while also furthering legal opportunities for women in law and making a difference in the lives of women and children.

“Mary-Beth is a force of nature as a leader, mentor, and role model for countless women students and lawyers, colleagues, and the larger legal community,” said Professor Emerita Cary Bricker. “I know she will continue to have this positive impact on others for years to come.”

Moylan co-founded a program in which volunteer attorneys and law students provide guidance to people representing themselves in federal court. Her time and recruitment efforts have helped hundreds of people who could not afford counsel.

Since joining Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in 2000, she also has served as a mentor to women as they begin their legal careers.

“It’s really important for lawyers to have someone they can talk to and bounce ideas off of, but it’s also important for me,” Moylan said. “I invest a lot of time and care into my students, so to see them thriving, enjoying practice and progressing personally and professionally gives me a lot of happiness.”

Senior Deputy City Attorney for Sacramento and alumna Kourtney Burdick ’06 described Moylan as everything you want in a professor: knowledgeable, articulate and connected to her class.

“Without a doubt, the skills I learned in her class shaped the way I approach legal issues today … But beyond the classroom, when I think back on that time, I think of her unwavering support and endless encouragement,” Burdick said.