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Established in 2008, the Litigation Section Diversity Leadership Award recognizes individuals or entities that have demonstrated a commitment to promoting full and equal participation in the legal profession through the encouragement and inclusion of women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and/or persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities.

The 2024 award recipient was The Ulu Lehua Scholars Program. Read the press release here. Past award recipients can be viewed here.

2025 Award

Nominations for the 2025 award are now open. Please use this form to submit your nomination before February 21, 2025. The award will be presented at the 2025 Litigation Section Annual Conference at the Chicago Hilton on April 30-May 2, 2025. The award recipient will be provided with airfare, hotel accommodation for one night, and two tickets to the awards luncheon on Thursday, May 1.

Nominations

If you are interested in submitting a nomination, please consider the following:

  • How many years has the individual or entity been actively promoting diversity?
  • How many years has the specific project or program been operating (if applicable)?
  • What has been the program or initiative’s impact (e.g. number of persons who have participated or received benefits; has the program or initiative served as a model for other programs; is the program likely to become a model)?
  • The plan that is in place to keep the program going.
  • How the individual or entity’s approach to increasing diversity is innovative.
  • Any professional or personal sacrifice the nominee has made to further diversity.
  • Any previous recognition the individual or entity has received for their contribution to diversity by others in the field.   

The Section welcomes anyone to submit a nomination for the award.* For individual nominations, include a resume or similar document describing the nominee’s principal areas of practice, number of years of practice, and professional achievements.   

For entity nominations, include the names of persons at the entity who are responsible for diversity activities and their qualifications. 

* Current members of the Litigation Section Council, leadership, employees, and family members of these individuals are not eligible to be award recipients but may submit nominations.

Supporting Materials

These materials may include newspaper clippings, press releases, and other publicity that describe the nominee’s contribution to diversity in the profession. Please note: Submission of electronic materials cannot exceed 4MB.

Letters of Support

A maximum of three letters of support from other individuals or organizations with knowledge of the nominee’s contributions are welcome.   

Questions

Please submit all materials via the online nomination form. Contact Erin Stanton with any questions.