Obituaries

Plane crash victims include 2 Wilkinson Stekloff associates, civil rights attorney set to join law faculty

Victims of the Washington, D.C., plane crash Jan. 29 include two Wilkinson Stekloff associates and a civil rights lawyer planning to join the faculty of the Howard University School of Law this fall.

Feb 3, 2025 10:53 AM CST

Arizona judge who championed domestic violence survivors dies at 77

Judge Elizabeth "Ellie" Finn, a champion of specialized courts who served as a judge in Arizona for more than 42 years, died Dec. 27 at age 77.

Jan 9, 2025 2:54 PM CST

Remembering President James Earl ‘Jimmy’ Carter, ever the teacher

Educators and students preparing to begin a new semester can make good use of lessons about leadership and purposeful service that can be gleaned from the beautiful life of former President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter. That is especially so for law school communities for at least two reasons.

Jan 7, 2025 8:51 AM CST

Our top LinkedIn posts of 2024

As we close the door on 2024 and step into 2025, we're giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the ABA Journal's LinkedIn page and social media analytics.

Dec 23, 2024 10:54 AM CST

Theodore B. Olson, conservative lawyer who backed marriage equality, dies at 84

Theodore B. Olson, a conservative constitutional lawyer who argued the 2000 Florida vote-recount case that helped George W. Bush secure the presidency and later helped lead the case that overturned California’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, has died. He was 84.

Nov 13, 2024 9:30 AM CST

Joyce Hens Green, a pioneering woman on the federal bench, dies at 95

Joyce Hens Green, who helped blaze a trail for women in the law while serving as a Washington attorney and federal judge, presiding over high-profile cases involving the BCCI bank fraud scandal and the rights of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, has died. She was 95.

Oct 18, 2024 8:10 AM CDT

Sharecropper’s son who rose from poverty to become first Black New Jersey justice dies at 91

Updated: Former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice James H. Coleman Jr. died at age 91 on Aug. 2, rising from his childhood in a home without electricity and running water to become the first Black justice appointed to the state supreme court.

Aug 5, 2024 10:18 AM CDT

Former ABA President Tommy Wells has died

Past ABA President H. Thomas “Tommy” Wells Jr. died on Wednesday. “Tommy was an amazing leader for this association, and I don’t think he ever had an enemy in the world,” said ABA President Mary Smith, calling his death a “horrible loss for all of us and the association.”

Aug 1, 2024 4:30 PM CDT

Celebrated criminal defense attorney Neal Sonnett dies at 81

Neal Sonnett, a renowned criminal defense attorney and active leader in the ABA, died on Thursday at the age of 81. He was instrumental in the ABA’s efforts to protect civil liberties in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Jul 16, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Federal judge fatally struck by car had offered heartwarming advice in clerk interview

Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks of the District of Nevada died Wednesday after he was struck by a car near the courthouse in Reno, Nevada. He was 80 years old.

May 30, 2024 3:11 PM CDT

Clinical law prof who worked for social justice killed in triple murder

An associate clinical professor at the Mississippi College School of Law died over the weekend in a fatal shooting that also claimed the lives of her mother and sister.

May 14, 2024 1:59 PM CDT

Arrest is made in fatal shooting of BigLaw associate at McDonald’s

Police have arrested a suspect in the May 4 killing of a BigLaw associate at a McDonald’s in Houston.

May 13, 2024 10:45 AM CDT

BigLaw associate identified as good Samaritan fatally shot at McDonald’s

An associate at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith was fatally shot at a McDonald’s in Houston on Saturday after trying to calm an angry customer who was dissatisfied with his order, according to Houston police.

May 7, 2024 9:17 AM CDT

O.J. Simpson, football great whose trial for murder became a phenomenon, dies at 76

O.J. Simpson, the football superstar who became a symbol of domestic violence and racial division after he was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a trial that riveted the nation and had legal and cultural repercussions for years afterward, died April 10. He was 76.

Apr 11, 2024 2:30 PM CDT

Federal judge who ‘despised obituaries written by funeral home hacks’ wrote his own

Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hugh Lawson Jr. wanted to make sure that his obituary didn’t include trite phrases, such as a declaration that the memory of the deceased would be “forever treasured.” Anyone who wrote that “should be shot,” according to Lawson.

Apr 4, 2024 9:27 AM CDT