Janet Reno, the first female U.S. Attorney General, died on November 7, 2016. President Bill Clinton appointed Ms. Reno in March 1993, and she served in that position for nearly eight years during the Clinton administration, from 1993–2001. Prior to becoming attorney general, Ms. Reno was the state attorney for Dade County (Florida) for 14 years. She received a special Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in 1993.
Norma L. Shapiro, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, died on July 22, 2016. A pioneer for countless women in the legal profession, Judge Shapiro was the first woman appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the first woman chair of the ABA National Conference of Federal Trial Judges. She was a 1999 recipient of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.