CHICAGO, Oct. 24, 2024 — The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will honor California Superior Court judge Victoria Kolakowski with its Stonewall Award during a ceremony from 5:30-7 p.m. Feb. 1, 2025, at the ABA Midyear Meeting at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
Named after the New York City Stonewall Inn police raid and riot of June 28, 1969, which was a turning point in the gay rights movement, the award recognizes lawyers who have advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBT legal causes.
In 2006, Kolakowski became the first openly transgender administrative law judge, and in 2010, she became the first openly transgender trial court judge. Prior to becoming a judge, she was an attorney for 21 years in Louisiana and California. Ensuring and expanding access to justice has been the centerpiece of her career. She is a member of the Judicial Council of California’s Advisory Committee and the California Council of Churches' appointee to the California Access to Justice Commission.
Kolakowski is past president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. A global advocate on LGBT and transgender legal issues, she is also a leading educator for the judiciary and the legal community on transgender issues.
Currently, she is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. She teaches the class, “Equality and Religious Freedom,” on the intersection of religious freedom and equality rights.
In 2019, she was named the 2019 California Legislative Women’s Caucus “Woman of the Year- 18th Assembly District.” Five years earlier, she was named a “Pioneer in the Law,” by the California Women Lawyers.
Kolakowski has a B.A. from New College of Florida, an M.S. from Tulane University and the University of New Orleans, a J.D. from Louisiana State University and a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion.
The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity leads the ABA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the ABA, the legal profession and society. Created in 2007, the commission seeks to secure equal treatment in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
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