Bar Associations
Internationally Known Lawyer Patricia Wald to Get Top ABA Honor
Posted Jun 12, 2008, 02:23 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Patricia Wald, a lawyer internationally known for her work as a judge and on public interest projects, is this year's recipient of the American Bar Association Medal, the ABA's top honor.
Wald, who was the first woman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, served 20 years, including five years as chief judge, before resigning in 1999 to serve for two years on the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. She says she is thrilled to learn she will receive the award, the ABA reports in a press release.
Among Wald’s many other public service endeavors, she has served on the governing board of the ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, now a component of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative that supports development of legal systems, judicial training, independent legal professions and other justice initiatives in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, the press release recounts.
In addition to leading the organization, she was a volunteer in its programs, making 15 trips to places like Sarajevo, Serbia and Slovakia to monitor elections, advise on establishing court systems and assist in drafting new constitutions.
At one point, Wald told the New York Times in 1999, she and others were sitting around a table writing a constitution with the help of homemade vodka.
“As people across the world continue to strive toward justice under the rule of law, and discard the yoke of repression, Patricia Wald embodies an extraordinary commitment to service in the name of law,” says ABA President William H. Neukom in the press release.
The ABA Medal is presented by the ABA periodically, in years when an individual has “rendered exceptionally distinguished service to the cause of American jurisprudence.” Last year's ABA Medal recipient was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
This year's award will be presented to Wald on Aug. 12 at the ABA's Annual Meeting in New York.
More coverage of Wald:
Inside UVA (2005): "Judge wins University's top honor in law"
American Constitution Society for Law and Policy: "Patricia M. Wald"
Bar Report (1995): "Legends in the Law"
Patricia M. Wald (PDF) : "Three Perplexing Predicaments in Human Rights Law"
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