Previous Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award Recipients

Honorees receiving the Margaret Brent Award have achieved professional excellence in their field and

• influenced other woman to pursue legal careers,
• opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them, and/or
• advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession.

The Margaret Brent Awards are named for the first woman lawyer in America.  She arrived in the colonies in 1638.  She was a master negotiator, an accomplished litigator, and a respected leader. She was involved in 124 court cases over eight years and won every case. In 1648, she formally demanded a “vote and voice” in the Maryland Assembly, which the governor denied. Over 250 years later, Harper’s magazine noted: “By this action, Margaret Brent undoubtedly placed herself as the first woman in America to make a stand for the rights of her sex."  See this video about Margaret Brent's life to understand why it is so critical that our honorees carry on her legacy!

2019 Honorees

• Raquel Aldana (PDF); Associate Vice-Chancellor for Academic Diversity, Professor of Law; University of California, Davis; Davis, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree & her acceptance speech
• Michelle Banks (PDF); Senior Advisor & Executive Coach; BarkerGilmore, LLC; San Francisco CA - View the video introduction of the honoree & her acceptance speech
  
• Kelly Dermody (PDF); Office Managing Partner (San Francisco) & Employment Practice Group Chairperson; Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree & her acceptance speech
  
• Hon. Judith McConnell (PDF); Administrative Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal; Fourth Appellate District; San Diego, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree & her acceptance speech
  
• Julie Su (PDF); Labor Secretary; California Labor and Workforce Development Agency; Sacramento, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree & her acceptance speech

2018 Honorees

• Patricia Kruse Gillette (PDF); JAMS Mediator; Retired Partner, Orrick; Author; Kensington, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Eileen M. Letts (PDF); Partner, Zuber Lawler & del Duca LLP; Chicago, IL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall (PDF); U.S. District Judge; U.S. District Court; los Angeles, CA - View the  video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Cynthia E. Nance (PDF); Dean Emerita, Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law, Director of Pro Bono and Community Engagement; University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville, AR - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Tina Tchen (PDF); Partner, Buckley Sandler LLP; Chicago, IL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2017 Honorees

• Nancy Duff Campbell (PDF); Co-President; National Women's Law Center; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald (PDF); Circuit Judge; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Memphis, TN - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Honorable Lynn Nakamoto (PDF); Justice; Oregon Supreme Court; Salem, OR - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Lauren Stiller Rikleen (PDF); President; Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership; Wayland, MA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Nadine Strossen (PDF); John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law; New York Law School; New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2016 Honorees

• Ginger Ehn Lew (PDF); Managing Director and General Counsel; Cube Hydro Partners LLC; Bethesda, MD - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Roberta D. Liebenberg (PDF); Senior Partner; Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.; Philadelphia, PA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Nancy E. O’Malley (PDF); District Attorney; Alameda County District Attorney's Office; Oakland, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Honorable Judith W. Rogers (PDF); Circuit Judge; U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Washington, DC - Listen to the audio introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
  
• Judith A. Scott (PDF); General Counsel, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Senior Partner, James & Hoffman, P.C.; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her

2015 Honorees

• Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte (PDF); Ambassador of the United States to El Salvador; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• LTG Flora D. Darpino (PDF); Lieutenant General; United States Army; The Judge Advocate General; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Honorable Fernande R.V. (Nan) Duffly (PDF); Associate Justice; Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Boston, MA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Mary Ann Hynes (PDF); Senior Counsel, Dentons US LLP and Formerly, SVP and General Counsel, Ingredion; Chicago, IL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her
• Professor Emma Coleman Jordan (PDF); Professor of Law; Georgetown University Law Center; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  • Hear her describe what the award means to her

2014 Honorees

• Honorable Nancy Gertner (PDF); Harvard Law School and Judge (Retired); U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; Cambridge, MA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Anastasia D. Kelly (PDF); Co-Managing Partner (Americas); DLA Piper; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Allie B. Latimer (PDF); Former General Counsel; General Services Administration; Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Honorable Kathryn Doi Todd (PDF); Associate Justice (Retired); California Court of Appeal, Second District; Los Angeles, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Marissa C. Wesely (PDF); Of Counsel; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2013 Honorees

• Senator Mazie K. Hirono (PDF) (D-Hawaii), Honolulu, HI - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Sara Holtz (PDF), Founder & CEO, ClientFocus, San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Hon. Gladys Kessler (PDF), Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Marygold Shire Melli (PDF), Voss-Bascom Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, WI - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Therese M. Stewart (PDF), Chief Deputy City Attorney, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2012 Honorees

• The Honorable Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye (PDF), Chief Justice of California, Supreme Court of California, San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Marcia Devins Greenberger (PDF), Co-President, National Women's Law Center, Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Joan M. Hall (PDF), Retired Partner, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Arlinda Locklear (PDF), Attorney, Arlinda Locklear Law Office, Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Amy W. Schulman (PDF), Executive Vice President & General Counsel of Pfizer, President of Pfizer Nutrition, New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2011 Honorees

• Special Award: The Right Honourable Madame Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin (PDF), Supreme Court of Canada; in Ottawa, Ontario - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Eleanor Dean Acheson (PDF), Vice President General Corporate Counsel & Corporate Secretary, National Railroad Passenger Corporation; in Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Paulette Brown (PDF), Partner, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; in Madison, NJ - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Karen J. Mathis (PDF), President & CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; in Philadelphia, PA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Colonel Maritza S. Ryan (PDF), United States Military Academy; in West Point, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• The Honorable Esther Tomljanovich (PDF), Medica Board of Directors and Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice; in Lake Elmo, MN - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2010 Honorees

• Brooksley E. Born (PDF), Retired Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP and former chairperson of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission; in Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Elizabeth J. Cabraser (PDF), Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and leader in the plaintiffs' complex litigation/class action bar; in San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Willie Stevenson Glanton (PDF), Civil Rights Activist and the first African American woman elected to the Iowa Legislature General Assembly; in Des Moines, IA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. M. Margaret McKeown (PDF), Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the first woman partner at Perkins Coie LLP; in San Diego, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Laura Stein (PDF), Senior Vice President and General Counsel, The Clorox Company and the first woman general counsel at two Fortune 500 companies; in Oakland, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2009 Honorees

• Linda L. Addison (PDF), Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and co-founder of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas; in Houston, TX and New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Helaine M. Barnett (PDF), President, Legal Services Corporation and the first legal aid attorney to serve as president of the Legal Services Corporation; in Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree  and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Arnette R. Hubbard (PDF), Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, IL and champion of human rights through the exercise of the right to vote; in Chicago, IL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Vanessa Ruiz (PDF), Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the first Hispanic judge to serve on D.C.'s highest court; in Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Loretta A. Tuell (PDF), Partner, AndersonTuell, LLP, lawyer and legislative advocate on behalf of Indian tribes; in Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2008 Honorees

• Special Award: Sarah Weddington (PDF), Adjunct Professor, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Ruth Cooper Burg (PDF), Judge (Retired), Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Roberta Karmel (PDF), Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Colonel Linda Strite Murnane (PDF), USAF (Retired), Senior Legal Officer, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Hague, The Netherlands - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Mary Jo White (PDF), Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Ann Claire Williams (PDF), Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chicago, IL - Listen to the audio of the introduction of the honoree and view her acceptance speech

2007 Honorees

• Roxana C. Bacon (PDF), Executive Director, Western Progress and first woman president of the State Bar of Arizona; in Phoenix, AZ - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Hon. Marsha S. Berzon (PDF), Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; in San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Angela M. Bradstreet (PDF), Labor Commissioner for the state of California and champion for the advancement of women; in San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Marva Jones Brooks (PDF), Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP and first woman and first African-American City Attorney for Atlanta; in Atlanta, GA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Irma S. Raker (PDF), Judge, Court of Appeals of Maryland, pioneering jurist and leader in criminal justice policy development; in Annapolis, MD - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2006 Honorees

• Ellen Godbey Carson (PDF), Director, Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing and community activist; in Honolulu, HI - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Constance Slaughter-Harvey (PDF), Civil rights attorney and activist, former Assistant Secretary of State of Mississippi, and champion of education of youth; in Forest, MS - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Peggy A. Quince (PDF), Justice, Supreme Court of Florida and first African-American woman to serve on the Florida Supreme Court; in Tallahassee, FL - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Hon. Betty Roberts (PDF), Former Oregon Supreme Court Justice and first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court; in Salem, OR (deceased) - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
  
• Joan C. Williams (PDF) , Distinguished Professor, Hastings College of the Law, University of California and author of groundbreaking scholarly contributions to the field of work/life studies; in San Francisco, CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Keynote Speaker: Hon. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (PDF), first woman to serve as lieutenant governor of Maryland and founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award; in Baltimore, MD- View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2005 Honorees

• Special Award: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (PDF) , New York, NY - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Loretta Collins Argrett (PDF), Mediator and Ethics Consultant and former Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Mary B. Cranston (PDF), Chair of Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, San Francisco CA - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Carolyn Dineen King (PDF), Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Houston, TX - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Judith L. Lichtman (PDF), Immediate Past President and Senior Advisor, National Partnership for Women and Families, Washington DC - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech
• Hon. Mary Ann McMorrow (PDF), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Chicago, IL (deceased) - View the video introduction of the honoree and her acceptance speech

2004 Honorees

• Special Award: Hauwa Ibrahim (PDF), Human Rights Attorney, Lagos, Nigeria, the first woman attorney in Nigeria and lead defense counsel in the globally publicized Sharia "death by stoning" case of Amina Lawal in Nigeria
• Marina Angel (PDF), Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, PA
• Teveia R. Barnes (PDF), President, Lawyers for One America, San Francisco, CA
• Linda A. Klein (PDF), Managing Partner, Gambrell & Stolz, LLC, Atlanta, GA
• Catherine A. Lamboley (PDF), Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Shell Oil Company, Houston, TX
• Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal (PDF), South Carolina Supreme Court, Columbia, SC

2003 Honorees

• Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Nashville, TN
• Charlye O. Farris, Law Office of Charlye O. Farris, Wichita Falls, TX (deceased)
• Joanne Garvey (PDF), Partner, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, San Francisco, CA
• Colleen Khoury, Dean, University of Maine School of Law, Portland, ME
• Michele Coleman Mayes (PDF), Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Pitney Bowes, Stamford, CT

2002 Honorees

• Annie Brown Kennedy, Partner, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy and Kennedy, Winston-Salem, NC
• Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC
• Myrna Sharon Raeder (PDF), Professor of Law, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
• Judith P. Vladeck (PDF), Partner, Vladeck Waldman Elias & Englehard PC, New York, New York, NY (deceased)
• Hon. Rya W. Zobel, U.S. District Judge for the State of Massachusetts, Boston, MA

2001 Honorees

• Laurel Bellows (PDF), Partner, Bellows & Bellows, Chicago, IL
• Irma Herrera, Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates, San Francisco, CA
• Hon. Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, Special Counsel on Human Rights, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., New York, NY
• Hon. Mary Schroeder (PDF), Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Phoenix, AZ
• Marna Tucker, Partner, Feldesman, Tucker, Leifer, Fidell & Bank LLP, Washington DC

2000 Honorees

• Sheila L. Birnbaum (PDF), Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, New York, NY
• Shirley M. Hufstedler, Senior Counsel, Morrison & Foerster, LLP, Los Angeles, CA (deceased)
  
• Hon. Judith S. Kaye (PDF), Chief Judge, Court of Appeals of the State of New York, New York, NY (deceased)
  
• Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC
• Dovey J. Roundtree, General Counsel, National Council of Negro Women, Charlotte, NC

1999 Honorees

• Prof. Barbara Allen Babcock, Judge John Crown Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA
• Carol E. Dinkins (PDF), Partner , Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. and former Deputy Attorney General of the U.S., Houston, TX
• Justice Carol W. Hunstein, Supreme Court of Georgia, Atlanta, GA
• Pauline A. Schneider, Partner, Hunton & Williams, Washington, DC
• Hon. Norma L. Shapiro (PDF), U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (deceased)

1998 Honorees

• Special Award: Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Maureen Kempston Darkes, President, General Motors of Canada, Ltd., Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
• Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson (PDF), Louisiana Supreme Court, New Orleans, LA
• Irma L. Rangel, State Representative, Texas House of Representatives, Austin, TX (deceased)
• Judith Resnik (PDF), Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale U. Law School, New Haven, CT
• Judith A. Winston, former Executive Director, The President's Initiative on Race, Washington, DC

1997 Honorees

• Special Award: Roberta Cooper Ramo, Past President, ABA, Albuquerque, NM
• Evelyn Gandy, First Woman Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS (deceased)
• Jamie S. Gorelick (PDF), Vice Chair, Fannie Mae and former Deputy Attorney General of the U.S., Washington, DC
• Antonia Hernandez, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Los Angeles, CA
• Hon. Joan Dempsey Klein, Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeals, Los Angeles, CA
• Drucilla Stender Ramey, Executive Director and General Counsel, Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

1996 Honorees

• Hon. Rosemary Barkett (PDF), U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, Miami, FL
• Justice Beryl Levine, North Dakota Supreme Court, Palo Alto, CA (retired)
• Nina Miglionico, Partner, Miglionico & Rumore, Birmingham, AL (deceased)
• Lynn Hecht Schafran (PDF), Director, National Judicial Education Program/NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York
• Patricia Schroeder (PDF), U.S. House of Representatives, Denver (retired)
• Keynote Speaker: Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations; in New York, NY

1995 Honorees

• Special Award: Hon. Bella Abzug (PDF), former Congresswoman & Co-Chair, Women's Environment & Development Organization, New York, NY (deceased)
• Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson (PDF) , Wisconsin Supreme Court, Madison, WI
• Mahala Ashley Dickerson (PDF) , Partner, Dickerson & Gibbons, Anchorage, AK (deceased)
• Prof. Lani Guinier (PDF) , U. of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA
• Louise B. Raggio (PDF) , President, Raggio & Raggio, Inc., Dallas, TX
• Ada Shen-Jaffe (PDF) , Director, Evergreen Legal Services, Seattle, WA

1994 Honorees

• Special Award: Prof. Barbara Jordan (PDF) , LBJ School of Public Affairs, U. of Texas, Austin, TX (deceased)
• Nancy L. Davis (PDF) , former Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates, San Francisco, CA
• Jean E. Dubofsky (PDF) , Attorney, sole practitioner, Boulder, CO
• Margaret Hilary Marshall (PDF) , former Vice President & General Counsel, Harvard U., Cambridge, MA
• Vilma S. Martinez (PDF), Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson, Los Angeles, CA
• Hon. Patricia McGowan Wald (PDF) , U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Washington, DC

1993 Honorees

• Special Award: Hon. Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General, Washington, DC (deceased)
• Hon. Betty Weinberg Ellerin (PDF), Associate Justice, Appellate Division, New York, NY
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, DC
• Elaine R. Jones, Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, New York, NY
• Justice Joyce L. Kennard, California Supreme Court, San Francisco, CA
• Esther R. Rothstein, Partner, McCarthy and Levin, Chicago, IL (deceased)

1992 Honorees

• Special Award: Anita F. Hill (PDF) , former Professor, U. of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, OK
• Margaret L. Behm (PDF) , Partner, Dodson, Parker & Behm, Nashville, TN
• Hon. Betty B. Fletcher (PDF), U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Seattle, WA (deceased)
  
• Dean and Prof. Herma Hill Kay (PDF), U. of California School of Law (Boalt Hall), Berkeley, CA (deceased)
  
• Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink (PDF) , U.S. House of Representatives, Honolulu, Hawaii, HI (deceased)
• Justice Leah J. Sears (PDF) , Supreme Court of Georgia, Atlanta, GA

1991 Honorees

• Hon. Phyllis A. Kravitch (PDF) , U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta, GA
• Andrea Sheridan Ordin (PDF) , Attorney, private practice, Los Angeles, CA
• Justice Rosalie Wahl (PDF) , Minnesota Supreme Court, St. Paul, MN (deceased)
• Jeanette Rosner Wolman (PDF) , Attorney, Baltimore, MD (deceased)
• Marilyn V. Yarbrough (PDF) , former Dean, U. of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville, TN (deceased)