Henry J. Scudder, presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, will be presented the Law Day 2010 Award at a ceremony tomorrow at the Hilton New York hosted by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
Justice Scudder was appointed to the Fourth Department in 1999 and was named presiding justice in 2006. He was first elected to the Supreme Court bench in the Seventh Judicial District, which includes eight western counties, in 1996. He also now serves as a liaison to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection.
Bernard W. Nussbaum, a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and John R. Dunne, a senior counsel at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, will be honored by the Fund for Modern Courts at a May 10 reception at the Bryant Park Grill.
Mr. Nussbaum, a litigator at Wachtell since 1966, will receive the Career Public Service Award. He served as a senior staff member of the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate inquiry and was later named White House counsel to President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Dunne will receive the John J. McCloy Memorial Award, which recognizes lawyers who work "to improve the administration of justice." A state senator for 24 years, Mr. Dunne has been counsel at Whiteman Osterman since 1994.
John J. McCloy, an attorney and diplomat, was U.S. high commissioner in postwar Germany and an adviser to presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. He served as a leader of the fund from 1961 to 1978.
The Enhance Diversity in the Profession Committee of the New York City Bar will present its fifth annual Diversity Champion Awards at a ceremony on May 26 at the association's 44th Street headquarters. The honorees include George Cheeks and Andra Shapiro, executive vice presidents and co-general counsels of MTV Networks; Duane L. Hughes, an executive director of Morgan Stanley's legal and compliance division; and Marissa C. Wesley, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
The award recognizes "the critical role individual attorneys have played in initiating and sustaining change within their organizations and the overall New York legal community."
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) last month honored attorneys for their service at a dinner at The Pierre.
Dewey & LeBoeuf received the Special Achievement Award, accepted by firm chairman Steven H. Davis. CASA was founded by former partner Joseph A. Califano Jr. in 1992, and the firm has continued to provide pro bono services to the organization ever since.
CASA assembles over 60 professionals with post-graduate and doctorate degrees in various fields to raise awareness about the effects of substance abuse.
Last month, the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development and the Asian Pacific, Black, Latin American and South Asian Law Students associations of St. John's University School of Law held their 11th annual scholarship dinner at the D'Angelo Center on the Queens campus.
Trailblazer Awards were given to Hughes Hubbard & Reed and the law department of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company for their participation in the Summer Law School Prep Program for College Students. Both companies offered internships and mentoring to help minority students gain admission to law school.
The annual event pays tribute to Ronald H. Brown, class of 1970, the first black partner of Patton Boggs and the first black U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who was killed in a 1996 plane crash. To mark the 40th anniversary of Mr. Brown's graduation, two of the student group honored individual Patton Boggs attorneys. Partner Rodney E. Slater was recognized by the Black Law Students Association and of counsel Anurag Varma was honored by the South Asian Law Students Association.
The Constitution Project last month presented George H. Kendall and Thomas R. Pickering with Constitutional Champion Awards at its annual dinner last month at Washington, D.C. Attorney General Eric Holder gave the keynote address.
Mr. Kendall, a veteran litigator, is the director of the public service initiative at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Mr. Pickering, a retired U.S. ambassador and U.N. representative, is a member of the project's Liberty and Security Committee, the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The award recognizes "individuals who have dedicated their lives to defending our nation's Constitution and the principles it embodies."
The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies presented its Keystone Award to Sean Delany, executive director of Lawyers Alliance for New York, at the FPWA's annual conference last month at New York University's Kimmel Center for Student Life. The Lawyers Alliance was recognized for its pro bono contributions to FPWA's member agencies.
Lawyers Alliance for New York connects lawyers, non-profits and communities while the FPWA provides support services to some 300 social service member agencies in New York City.
Meanwhile, Mr. Delany and John Fouhey, senior counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell, will accept awards from BronxWorks at its annual event on Thursday at the Hard Rock Café at Yankee Stadium.
Mr. Delany served as pro-bono counsel for BronxWorks for nearly 15 years, representing the group in its 1993 merger with Girls Club of New York. He became board chair in 1999, a position from which he recently resigned.
John Fouhey has provided pro bono counsel to BronxWorks on various matters since 1993. He has served as treasurer and board member of the group. He recently retired after practicing for 27 years at Davis Polk. BronxWorks, formerly the Citizens Advice Bureau, helps children and adults overcome economic and social obstacles to improve their quality of life.
Marsha E. Simms, corporate partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges, last month accepted the Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award from the American Bar Association's Business Law Section during its annual spring meeting in Manhattan.
Ms. Simms is a member of the state bar's Banking Law and Minorities in the Profession committees. She also is a member of the New York City Bar's Audit Committee the ABA's Commission on Women in the Profession.
The Jean Allard award, named for the first woman chair of the Business Law Section, honors an "exceptional woman business lawyer who has made significant contributions both to the profession" and to the section.
Sergio Moore, a student at New York Law School, was among six students nationwide recently selected to participate in the 2010 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Kellogg Corporation Law Fellow Program
The fellowship allows student who have demonstrated an interest in civil rights to gain hands-on experience working in the legal department of the NAACP's Baltimore and Washington, D.C., bureaus. It is supported by a $75,000 grant from the Kellogg Corporate Citizenship Fund, the company's charity division.
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice last month presented its 2010 Justice Awards at a ceremony held at the school. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project received the Community Leader for Justice Award. The award, accepted by the project's legal director, Kara Hartzler, recognizes the project's work in providing legal counsel to immigrants detained in Arizona. The National Leader for Justice Award was given to Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law's Innocence Project, which works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through DNA testing.
@|Accolades reports on special recognition given to attorneys at law firms, in government and at social agencies. Submit items to jlauredan@alm.com.
