19th Annual Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards Luncheon
The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, established by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession in 1991, recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and have paved the way to success for other women lawyers.
Call for Nominations for the 2009 Margaret Brent Awards -
Deadline for Nominations - Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Nominations for the 2009 awards are now closed.
The 2009 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards will be presented on Sunday, August 2, 2009 in Chicago, IL during the ABA Annual Meeting.
Previous 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.
View the list of distinguished award recipientsWho Is Margaret Brent?
Margaret Brent was the first woman lawyer in America, arriving in the colonies in 1638. She was a master negotiator, an accomplished litigator, and a respected leader. Brent was involved in 124 court cases over eight years and won every one. 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."
2008 Honorees
2008 Commemorative Program and Tribute Book
Hon. Ruth Cooper Burg, Judge (Retired), Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, pioneering jurist/leader in public contract law, and active mediator/arbitrator; in Washington, DC
Roberta Karmel, Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School and first woman appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission; in New York, NY
Colonel Linda Strite Murnane, USAF (Retired), Senior Legal Officer, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and advocate for advancement of women in the law and in the military; in The Hague, The Netherlands
Mary Jo White, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP and first woman U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in New York, NY
Hon. Ann Claire Williams, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and first African-American to serve on the Seventh Circuit; in Chicago, IL
Special Award: Sarah Weddington, Adjunct Professor, University of Texas at Austin, women's rights advocate, and founder, The Weddington Center; in Austin, TX
2007 Margaret Brent Awardees Town Hall Meeting
Listen to the Town Hall Meeting in Its Entirety
On February 9, 2007, during the ABA Midyear Meeting, the Commission convened a distinguished panel of Margaret Brent honorees to discuss Are We There Yet? The Unfinished Journey of Women in the Legal Profession.
Over 100 attendees interacted with this select group of Brent Award-winning trailblazers in a town hall meeting as they discussed issues raised by the Commission on Women’s newly-released Charting Our Progress report (including the generational divide and obstacles/opportunities facing women lawyers) and the special challenges confronting women lawyers of color, as evidenced in the Commission on Women’s study Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms.
Panelists included:
- Honorable Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Circuit Judge, Eleventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals
- Carol E. Dinkins, Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP; Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General
- Elaine R. Jones, Director-Counsel Emeritus of NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- Janet Reno, Former Attorney General of the United States
- Moderator: Jami Floyd, Anchor, Court TV
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