America's most outstanding law school student has a local address — the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Scott E. Sullivan, a third-year student at the law school, was selected as the National Outstanding Law Student of the Year by Who's Who: American Law Students, based on his legal and community achievements. The book is scheduled for publication later this month.

"I was surprised. It is an honor and very exciting," Sullivan said. "My mother and father were ecstatic."

Sullivan, who is enrolled as a dual degree JD-MBA student, is an active member of the community at the law school and in the greater Hartford area. He is president of the Latino Law Students Association, symposium editor of the Connecticut Journal of International Law, a member of the Connecticut Moot Court Board, and a student member of the Hispanic Bar Association, The World Affairs Council and the American Society of International Law.

A former Thomas F. Gallivan Research Fellow, Sullivan recently received a prestigious NAFTA exchange scholarship, the CAMUS Scholarship. The scholarship will sponsor his attendance at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, in spring 1999 to study international law and business.

Hugh Macgill, dean of the law school, says Sullivan is already making his mark in a number of ways.

"In addition to the other achievements that figured in his selection as the outstanding law student of the year,' Macgill says, "last month he organized an outstandingly successful international scholarly conference at the law school on corporate law. I think Scott is marked as one of those 'busy people' to whom others who need something important done well will always turn."

While Sullivan has traveled abroad extensively and studied international law, he has spent countless hours making a difference in the community. He is enrolled in the Street Law Program, a course offered at the law school in which law students team teach Hartford High School students about basic legal issues that impact their lives daily.

He also is a mentor, tutor and recruiter for the Hartford Career Beginnings program. This program is an educational initiative for Hartford High School students that links higher education, public schools, parents, businesses and community volunteers to increase the percentage of Hartford students who graduate from high school and pursue college degrees. In January, Sullivan arranged with the administration to have the program use the school's facilities to conduct a tutorial program for struggling Hartford High students. He has tutored individual students and served as the on-campus recruiter for tutors and mentors, substantially increasing overall student participation.

His community involvement is recognized in Who's Who: "As a result of Scott's efforts, the lives of many inner-city students are being enriched and their futures look more hopeful."

Sullivan earned his B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in political science and Spanish from the University of Vermont in 1993. He spent the following spring in Hartford as a research analyst for the state Office of Fiscal Analysis, and subsequently attended the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar of Goodwill. He received his M.A. in political science and began his legal career at the law school in 1995.

"The law school is close to home, relatively inexpensive and has a great reputation," he says. "I think it's an excellent school and underrated nationally. After my first year, I decided to complement my legal education with an MBA. Hopefully, I will be a well-rounded adviser to my clients."

Sullivan, who plans to practice international trade law, will be clerking this summer at three different law firms, two in Dallas and one in Washington, D.C.

Renu Aldrich