Meet the 2018 Salt Creek Scholars

The College of Law is please to recognize Keeley Cronin, of Powell, and Emily Madden, of Torrington as the 2018-2019 Brimmer Scholars.

The Brimmer Scholarship is the largest and most prestigious scholarship offered by the College of Law. It is named to honor the long and distinguished service of Judge Brimmer, and to ensure that his renowned career serves as an inspiration to up-and-coming generations of legal professionals.

The Brimmer Scholars Program was established in 2011 with the intent of highlighting and rewarding the accomplishments of an outstanding student who has contributed excellence throughout their law school career and is projected to continue that trend into their profession. (See past recipients here).

While traditionally one student is selected for the scholarship, it is not unusual for more than one recipient to be selected in years where the candidates are particularly remarkable.

The depth of this class was so immense in fact, that eight finalists were selected to interview before the Brimmer Scholarship Selection Committee. The Committee consists of representatives from the judiciary, the bar, the faculty, former clerks of Judge Brimmer, and members of the Brimmer family.

It is an extraordinary honor to be named a finalist.

In addition to Cronin and Madden, this year’s finalists included Allison Connell, of Sheridan; Catherine Di Santo, of Jackson; David Roberts, of Jackson; Isaiah Rose, of Castle Rock, Colo.; Allison Strube, of Laramie; and Kit Wendtland, of Sheridan.

A native of Powell, Wyo., Cronin earned dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wyoming, graduating in 2013 with a degree in Religious Studies and a degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.

Cronin has been an outstanding student and outspoken leader. Academically, she is extremely driven and has taken advantage of every opportunity to gain valuable legal experience during her law school career. Some of the positions that she has held through the externship program and summer internships include serving as a summer law clerk for the Honorable Tori R.A. Kricken (J.D. ’00) in the Wyoming Court of the Second Judicial District, working as a summer associate for the Cheyenne law firm Hirst Applgate LLP, and working as a research assistant for the Powell firm of Copenhaver, Kath, Kitchen & Kolpitcke. In the upcoming summer she is poised to serve as a summer associate for Baker Hostetler in Denver, Colo.

Within the law school, Cronin has excelled as well. She has been involved in the Wyoming Law Students for Equal Justice Club, the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association – Student Chapter, and competed in the 10th Annual Robert R. Rose, Jr. Voir Dire Competition finishing as a semifinalist. She has also worked as a staff member for the Wyoming Law Review, and will serve on the Editorial Board as an article editor during her third and final year of law school.

Following graduation, Cronin will serve as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Greg Phillips (J.D. ’87) in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I am very honored to be a part of the continuing legacy left by Judge Brimmer in Wyoming,” Says Cronin. “Being from Wyoming, the reputations that are built here are really important, and it is wonderful that this program exists to allow students to continue to impact the state in the same meaningful way he did.”

Emily Madden has been on a similar path through law school, forging excellence

wherever she goes. A graduate of the University of Dallas in 2015, Madden earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude in Business. In addition to working towards her Juris Doctor, Madden is a candidate for a Master of Public Administration through the joint-degree program.

A scholastically exceptional student, Madden has been as equally dedicated to service as she has been to her studies. She has volunteered to do legislative research through the Rural Law Center, she has volunteered doing outreach with incoming 1L students, and has been an active participant in the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association – Student Chapter, Equal Justice Wyoming, and the law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta.

She has gained valuable practical experience through various positions during her law school career including, an externship with United States Magistrate Judge of Wyoming, the Honorable Kelly H. Rankin (J.D. ’94), an externship with the Honorable Tori R.A. Kricken (J.D. ’00) in the Wyoming Court of the Second Judicial District, and spent a week shadowing the Honorable Nancy D. Freudenthal in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming through the Legal Liftoff Program. She is planning on spending the upcoming summer as a legal intern for the Spence Law Firm in Jackson, and will embark an externship with the Honorable Greg Phillips (J.D. ’87) in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in the fall.

An extremely accomplished writer, Madden will take the helm of the Wyoming Law Review Board as Editor in Chief for the 2018-2019 year. She has previously served as a staff member for the law review.

“I am truly humbled that I was chosen as a recipient from such a distinguished panel and amongst such an accomplished group of finalists,” says Madden. “I grew up hearing wonderful things about Judge Brimmer, and I hope to use the financial and emotional resources that attach to the Brimmer Scholarship to emulate him in my career. I am very grateful and honored for this opportunity.”

With a passion for Wyoming, litigation, and personal injury law, Madden hopes to combine those interests in some form after graduation.