IU McKinney Law Alumni Association Selects Alumni Honorees
10/21/2025
Two alumni of the law school have been selected by the McKinney Law Alumni Association for the Early Career Achievement and the Gerald L. Bepko Servant Leadership Awards. (Story updated with photo taken at the November 1 awards event: Dean Karen Bravo, Kerry Hyatt Bennett and Michael C. Cunningham pose with their awards along with Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations, Jayme Little.)
Early Career Achievement Award
The IU McKinney School of Law's Early Career Achievement Award celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of young alumni who, within their first decade of professional practice, exemplify exceptional talent, dedication, and promise. Recipients of this award epitomize the spirit of IU McKinney through their outstanding contributions as early career practitioners to the legal profession, their communities, and/or service to their alma mater.
Michael C. Cunningham, J.D. ‘17
Michael C. Cunningham, J.D. ’17, is a graduate of the law school’s evening division and a criminal defense attorney with The Criminal Defense Team, Baldwin, Perry & Wiley, P.C. in Franklin, Indiana. Since earning his law degree and two graduate certificates in advocacy skills and criminal law in 2017, Cunningham has distinguished himself as one of Indiana’s most dedicated and respected young defense attorneys. He has already argued before both the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court — including the landmark Minges v. State case, which overturned more than 40 years of precedent. Additionally, he has published articles on pretrial bail for both the Indiana Capital Chronicle and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Res Gestae. Cunningham focuses his practice on criminal defense in both central and rural Indiana, and he is known throughout the state as a resource and thought partner — someone who gives freely of his time to support fellow defense attorneys, share research and strategy, and strengthen the broader legal community. Through his work with the Indiana Public Defender Council, he has also helped shape legislative and court rule reforms that make our justice system fairer for all. He is a graduate of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Leadership Development Academy and has also worked to improve the practice of criminal law as chair of the State Bar’s Criminal Justice Section.
Gerald L. Bepko Servant Leadership Award
The Gerald L. Bepko Servant Leadership Award is named after the longest serving chancellor of IU’s Indianapolis campus (formerly IUPUI) and IU McKinney Law faculty member, whose legacy of servant leadership and selfless dedication towards others embodies the spirit of this award. The award honors alumni whose unwavering dedication has left a profound impact on their communities. It celebrates those who exemplify the essence of service and advocacy, reflecting qualities of compassion, integrity, and social responsibility, inspiring others in the profession to emulate Chancellor Bepko’s commitment to servant leadership.
Kerry Hyatt Bennett, J.D. ‘90
Kerry Hyatt Bennett, J.D. ‘90, has been the chief legal counsel at the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) since 2005, and an adjunct professor of law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis for over a decade, specializing in state and federal domestic violence law. Bennett is a frequent speaker on the legal issues, challenges, and inequities that survivors of gender-based violence face in and out of the court system. She is an appointed member of the Indiana Supreme Court’s Coalition for Court Access, which provides an organizational support structure for Indiana’s civil legal aid programs; she also serves on the Diversity Subcommittee of the Indiana State Bar Association; is a past president of the Indianapolis Bar Association; and is the current president of the Indiana Health Advocacy Coalition. She has been a legal advocate for survivors in Indiana’s trial courts, appellate courts and in the Indiana Supreme Court and is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States. Bennett has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including the Distinguished Barrister Leadership in Law Award from the Indiana Lawyer, the “Woman of Influence” recognition by the Indianapolis Business Journal, the Access to Justice Award from the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, and the Antoinette Dakin Leach Award from the Women in Law Division of the Indianapolis Bar Association.
