WASHINGTON, June 6, 2024 — Retired federal judge David S. Tatel will reflect on his journey from student to civil rights lawyer to federal judge and his more private journey from denial to acceptance of his blindness in the American Bar Association webinar “Pursuing Justice and Embracing Challenges: Judge David S. Tatel’s Journey,” which will be held on Thursday, June 13, at 2 p.m. EDT.
Tatel, who served nearly 30 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will talk with Goodwin Liu, associate justice of the California Supreme Court, about his life as chronicled in his memoir “Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice.” Tatel will share his insights about the role attorneys and judges play in protecting and defending justice for all; the future of democracy and the planet; the importance of civic engagement to meet the challenges facing our country; and his concerns about the state of our judiciary.
After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1966, Tatel began his three-decade career as a civil rights lawyer and federal judge. He served as the executive director of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (1969-70); director of the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare under the Carter administration (1977-79); partner at Hogan & Hartson (1979-94); and judge on the D.C. Circuit (1994-2023). Following his retirement from the bench, Tatel joined Hogan Lovells as senior counsel. He has also been recognized for his exceptional service. Tatel received an Alumni Medal from the University of Chicago in 2006, the Legal Champion Award from the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in 2019, the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award in 2023 and Servant of Justice Award from Legal Aid DC in 2024.
The program is free and open to the media and the public. Please register here to receive the Zoom link. For more information, contact Barbranda Walls at [email protected].
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