Lt. Thomas M. Caruso has been named a recipient of the 2019 Syracuse Law Honors Awards, which are presented annually to celebrate the achievements of the university’s law school alumni, faculty and current students.
A tireless advocate for veterans rights, Caruso co-founded the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Family Veterans Legal Clinic, the first comprehensive veterans legal clinic in New York State. As a student and alum, Caruso has assisted the law school in raising nearly one million dollars for this important initiative to assist our warriors and train the next generation of veteran advocates.
Caruso, a Utica, NY native, currently serves as the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) for Naval Special Warfare Group Three in Pearl Harbor, HI.
His previous assignments include SJA for Naval Submarine Support Command as well as Submarine Squadrons ONE and SEVEN; SJA for Naval Station Norfolk, VA; and trial counsel and defense counsel in Norfolk.
Caruso also has served as the Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Military and Veterans Health Law Task Force, Chair of the Veterans Committee of the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board, and Adviser to the Dean of the College of Law on Veteran Programs. He is a founder of the ABA’s Lawyers for Warriors Hampton Roads pro bono program.
Caruso graduated from the Syracuse University College of Law in 2014 and has clerked for the New York State Supreme Court in Oneida County. His previous awards include the ABA’s Outstanding Military Attorney of the Year, Onondaga County’s Pro Bono Service Award, and Region Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic’s Junior Officer of the Year.
Other recipients of the Syracuse Law Honors Awards included, Richard M. Alexander, Hon. Therese Wiley Dancks, Bernard T. King and Eileen D. Millett.