HARRISBURG (April 28, 2011) - The Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division will present its Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award to Guerline L. Laurore of Coudersport. Laurore will receive the award during the state association's Annual Meeting on May 4 in Philadelphia.

The award is named in memory of a young Philadelphia lawyer committed to providing legal services for low-income people and to offering law-related educational programs to students. The award is presented to a Pennsylvania young lawyer who, through his or her exemplary personal and professional conduct, reminds lawyers of their professional and community responsibilities.

Laurore is the principal of the Law Office of Guerline L. Laurore P.C., a firm focusing on family and immigration law. She is an appointed guardian ad litem for Potter County dependent and adjudicated youths and a conflict attorney for cases involving survivors of domestic violence. She also is an adjunct professor at Jamestown Community College.

Originally from Haiti, Laurore graduated from high school in French Guiana and moved to France. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1995 and a master's degree in clinical psychology and psychopathology in 1996 from the University Center of Provence located in Aix en Provence. She moved to the United States in 1997 and worked in human services for approximately seven years. She earned a juris doctorate in 2004 from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. While in law school, she was a certified legal intern representing survivors of domestic violence.

Laurore is coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, which is a project of the PBA Young Lawyers Division and one of the largest mock trial programs in the nation. She is a member of the PBA House of Delegates, the PBA Task Force on the Interbranch Commission Report on Juvenile Justice and the PBA Commission for Justice Initiatives in Pennsylvania. She is co-vice chair of the PBA Immigration Law Committee and a member of the PBA Minority Bar Committee, Commission on Women in the Profession, Children's Rights Committee, Quality of Life/Balance Committee and Legal Services to the Public Committee.

Laurore is president-elect of the Coudersport Elementary Parent Teacher Student Association.

She is a member of the Domestic Violence Attorney Network and a member of the board of A Way Out, an organization servicing survivors of domestic violence.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 28,000 lawyers who are members of the association.