Student Perry Friedman Establishes Scholarship for Fellow Boyd Students

From top, scholarship recipients Michael Viets and Marckia Hayes with Perry Friedman

Boyd student Perry Friedman recently funded and established a new $5,000 scholarship at the Boyd School of Law. Every fall and spring semester for the next five years, one Boyd student will receive a $500 Perry Friedman Civil Liberties Scholarship.

The dean of Boyd, in collaboration with faculty, will select the scholarship recipients. The scholarship will be given to students who have demonstrated an interest in protecting civil liberties.

The fall 2015, and inaugural, Perry Friedman Civil Liberties Scholarship recipient is Michael Viets. The spring 2016 recipient is Marckia Hayes.

An active member of the Boyd community, Viets is president of the Boyd chapter of Toastmasters International and is a member of the Society of Advocates, UNLV Gaming Law Journal, and the Public Interest Law Association. He was the first place winner in both the 2015 Annual Moot Court Competition and the 2015 In-House Negotiation Competition at Boyd.

Outside Boyd, Viets has served as a summer legal intern at the American Civil Liberties Union; is founder, co-proprietor and instructor at Comprehensive Arms Outfitters, where he is a federal firearms licensee; and has served in the Israeli Defense Forces: Infantry Corps.

Friedman graduated from Stanford University with both a bachelor’s degree in mathematical and computational science and a master’s degree in computer science. He won the 2002 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event, and he has cashed and made the final table at many other WSOP events.