CARLISLE, Pa. — Third-year law student David R. Talmage was named the 2015 recipient of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship. Michael J. McDonald, Esq., a 1979 Dickinson Law alumnus and managing partner of McDonald and MacGregor, LLC, presented the award to Talmage on Jan. 11 in the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium, Lewis Katz Hall, at Penn State’s Dickinson Law.
Established in 2013 on behalf of his father, the Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually on a competitive basis to an applicant who is a third-year, full-time student at Penn State’s Dickinson Law. In order to qualify, candidates must be a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Law Student Division, a Pennsylvania resident who is involved in the trial advocacy program, and must be interested in pursuing trial advocacy after graduation.
“If my father were here, he’d be so proud, along with the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, to present David this award,” said McDonald. “He was a striver and wanted to make a real difference in life. He was a lot like David is today.”
Talmage serves as president of Dickinson Law’s Student Bar Association and captain of the National Trial Team. He is also a Carlisle Borough Law Ambassador, a member of the Cumberland County Bar Association, and a member of the Cumberland County Inn of Court.
“This award shows me that the legal profession has confidence in us as students and just how important trial advocacy really is,” noted Talmage. “I’m very appreciative of this award.”
Talmage received his bachelor’s degree in 2010 from the University of Virginia with a double major in psychology and sociology, and his master of education in school counseling from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education in 2013. He received the CALI Excellence Award in Federal Criminal Practice and Agency, Partnership, and LLCs; the Sidney D. Kline Scholarship Award; and the Monroe E. Trout Scholarship Award.
Talmage served as a law student volunteer for the Bethesda Mission Legal Intake Clinic. He was a volunteer EMT for Prince George Fire and EMS, where he was selected the 2006 Volunteer of the Year; a volunteer home builder for Habitat for Humanity; a volunteer for the Petersburg Men’s Shelter; and program director for Madison House Volunteer Agency.