As dean and professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law, Danielle M. Conway teaches students about their obligation to defend the United States Constitution, to promote the rule of law, and to represent the most vulnerable in society.“As a lawyer and a teacher, I belong to two noble professions that view leadership as service and demand that such service be prioritized above self,” Conway says. As the state’s only law school, Maine Law producesthe state’s next generation of lawyers and serves as a community and government resource. Its Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic provides free legal services to individuals and families based on low-income guidelines, while teaching law students practical skills that complement their critical thinking skillshoned through engagement with the core curriculum. In one of Conway’s most recent projects, the law school has launched a three-year pilot project to address an expected shortage of lawyers in rural counties in Maine. The University of Maine School of Law Rural Lawyer Pilot Project will place law students with practitioners in communities that would otherwise have limited access to legal services. Conway has put service above self throughout her career, spending 27 years in the United States Army, the United States Army Reserve, and the Maine Army National Guard, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in November 2016. But her passion is the law. “Law has the power to protect individuals and their communities by drawing on core values such as liberty, equality, and fairness,” she says. “With a focus on these core values, law’s fundamental purpose—to foster an organized, civilized society—offers one of the best opportunities for collective community engagement and progress.”