Notre Dame Law School Announces Top Academic Awards for the Class of 2026 | News | The Law School

Notre Dame Law School is proud to announce the top three academic awards for the Class of 2026: The Colonel William J. Hoynes Award, the Dean Joseph O'Meara Award, and the Farabaugh Prize. These awards celebrate the exceptional academic achievements of three distinguished members of this year’s graduating class.

Gabriel Powell

The Colonel William J. Hoynes Award

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Named after Notre Dame Law School’s first dean, the Hoynes Award is the Law School’s highest academic honor. It is given to a graduating student who displays outstanding scholarship, application, deportment, and achievement.

Gabriel Powell served as a staff editor for Volume 100 and the managing articles editor for Volume 101 of the Notre Dame Law Review. He was also a member of the Notre Dame Federalist Society and served as president during his 3L year. During his 2L year, along with his partner Tom MacPhee, he won first place in the Law School's inaugural Justice Amy Coney Barrett Moot Court Tournament.

During his 1L summer, Gabriel worked at Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, and during his 2L summer he was a summer associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Washington, D.C.

Gabriel earned six Honor Roll distinctions and nine Faculty Awards for Excellence, and was a member of the Dean’s Circle for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. He also received the Patricia O’Hara Scholarship and Leadership Award.

He received his undergraduate degree from Hillsdale College.

This fall, Gabriel will serve as a law clerk for Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, followed by a clerkship with Judge Amul R. Thapar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Yuta Inada

The Dean Joseph O'Meara Award

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The Notre Dame Law School Class of 1964 established the Dean Joseph O'Meara Award to annually recognize a member of the graduating class for outstanding academic achievement.

Yuta Inada served on the Notre Dame Law Review as a staff editor for Volume 100 and as a senior online editor for Volume 101. He was involved in the Notre Dame Global Human Rights Clinic, the International Law Society, and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA).

During his 1L summer Yuta participated in a legal internship with the Notre Dame Global Human Rights Clinic and spent his 2L summer at Latham & Watkins in Chicago.

Yuta earned four Honor Roll distinctions and four Faculty Awards for Excellence. He was a member of the Dean’s Circle for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. He received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Program of Study in Business Law, the Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Program of Study in Global Law, and the Patricia O’Hara Scholarship and Leadership Award. He also received the Alison T. Dang Service Award at the APALSA Gala in March 2026.

He completed his bachelor of laws degree from Hitotsubashi University in Kunitachi, Japan.

Yuta will join Latham & Watkins this fall as an associate.

Zachary Pearson

The Farabaugh Prize

A man with short dark hair, blue eyes, and a broad smile, wearing a blue suit and patterned tie, against a light brown brick wall.

First awarded in 1927, the Farabaugh Prize was established by Gallitzin A. Farabaugh, a local South Bend attorney, and meant to recognize a member of the graduating class who displays high scholarship in law.

Zachary Pearson served on the Notre Dame Law Review as the executive managing editor for Volume 101 and as a staff editor for Volume 100. He was a teaching assistant for Professor Jacqueline Liedl's Legal Writing I & II courses in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, a student fellow in the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic, and a de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture Polking Fellow. Zach was also a member of the law school's rock band, the Learned Hand Formula.

During his 1L summer Zach worked at Consovoy McCarthy PLLC in Washington, D.C. and was a summer associate in Jones Day's Washington, D.C. office during his 2L summer.

Zach earned six Honor Roll distinctions and four Faculty Awards for Excellence, and was a member of the Dean’s Circle for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.

This fall, Zach will clerk for Judge Julius Richardson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.