Happy Holidays from the American Bar Foundation! With 2021 around the corner, we are busy gearing up for a series of virtual Fellows events during the ABA Midyear Meeting in February, as well as preparing for another year of exciting faculty research. In addition to Faculty and Fellows News, this issue includes the announcement of our 2021 Fellows Award Honorees and registration information for the virtual 65th Annual Fellows Awards Banquet. You will also find a special holiday greeting from the ABF staff.
|
|
ABF Researchers in the News
|
|
ABF Research Professor Laura Beth Nielsen Elected President of the Law and Society Association
|
|
Laura Beth Nielsen, ABF Research Professor and Northwestern University Sociology Professor, has been elected President of the Law and Society Association (LSA). The association announced the results of the 2020 elections on Tuesday, November 10. Nielsen will become LSA’s 32nd president in 2021 and will serve a two-year term.
|
|
ABF Faculty Fellow Sida Liu Receives Asian Law and Society Association Distinguished Article Award
Liu holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of Sociology and Law at the University of Toronto. His research areas include the legal profession, law and globalization, sociolegal theory, and general social theory. His most recent research project examines the influence of colonialism and authoritarianism on the professions in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
|
|
Honorable Bryant Yang, California Fellow, Appointed Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court
Honorable Bryant Yang, California Fellow and Former Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) President, has been named Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court in a historic appointment by Governor Gavin Newsom. Judge Yang is the first Burmese American judge in the United States.
Judge Yang served as president of the APABA in 2016. His experience in the legal field includes a wide range of civil and criminal work at both the state and federal levels. Most recently, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California. In his career, he has helped Asian American and Pacific Islander candidates secure appointments to the judiciary, created a Judgment Enforcement Clinic to assist litigants in collecting on judgments, and established programs honoring diverse trailblazers in the legal profession. Judge Yang has also spent time at the Myanmar-Thailand border working with refugees.
|
|
Professor Richard Sobelsohn, New York Fellow, Publishes "Coops, Condos and COVID-19" in NYSBA Journal
Professor Richard Sobelsohn, New York Fellow and Vice President, Legal, of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, published an article entitled "Coops, Condos and COVID-19" in the November 2020 issue of the New York State Bar Association Journal. The article details ten COVID-related building management issues that require attention, such as continued building operations, social distancing measures, and modifications to the selling/renting processes. In the article, Professor Sobelsohn remarks that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to develop a blueprint for condominiums and cooperatives that can be followed in similar crises.
|
|
Announcing the 2021 ABF Fellows Award Honorees
The Fellows are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Fellows Awards. They will be honored during the 65th Annual Fellows Awards Reception and Banquet. See below for registration.
Outstanding Service Award:
Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School
|
|
Outstanding Scholar Award:
Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
|
|
Outstanding State Chair Award:
Louisiana State Co-Chairs
Founding Member, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, L.L.C.
|
|
Founder and Managing Partner, NeunerPate
|
|
Distinguished Life Fellow Award:
Distinguished Lecturer and Senior Consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
|
|
Register Now: ABF Fellows 65th Annual Awards Banquet at the 2021 Virtual ABA Midyear Meeting
|
|
Join us virtually on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 for the 65th Annual ABF Fellows Awards Banquet! The program will feature the 2021 ABF Fellows Award Honorees as well as a keynote address by Harvard University School of Law 300th Anniversary Professor Martha Minow.
Professor Minow's keynote address, "When Should Law Forgive?", will explore the complicated intersection of the law, justice, and forgiveness, asking whether the law should encourage people to forgive, as well as asking when courts, public officials, and specific laws should forgive.
VIP registration packages are available in a limited number. Read more and register here.
|
|
Digital program book ads can be purchased to honor/recognize any of the award winners, the keynote speaker, the ABF or the Fellows. For more information click here or contact Katy Traxler at ktraxler@abfn.org.
|
|
In Memoriam:
Federal Judge Jerome Farris
The ABF fondly remembers the career and dedicated service of late Washington Benefactor Fellow and Federal Judge Jerome Farris.
|
|
Judge Farris, who passed away in July 2020 at the age of 90, was a longstanding supporter and leader of the ABF Fellows. He led a historic career in law, becoming the first Black judge to serve on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Farris earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Morehouse College in 1951, and a Juris Doctor degree in 1958 from the University of Washington School of Law. Farris opened his own law firm in Seattle before being appointed a judge of the Washington State Court of Appeals in 1969. In 1979, Farris was historically appointed to the federal appellate court by President Jimmy Carter. He was the first Black judge to hold the position.
Judge Farris became an ABF Fellow in 1989 and served on the ABF Board for two decades. He was national Chair of the Fellows from 2000-2001. Judge Farris continued to support the ABF Fellows throughout his career and into his retirement.
Leonard Gilbert, Florida Benefactor Fellow and partner at Holland and Knight, served in ABF Fellows leadership alongside Judge Farris. “I had the privilege of serving with Judge Farris as a national officer of the Fellows. He was a true champion of the Foundation, an honor to the profession, and a beloved friend. Judge Farris lived his life with purpose, passion, and enthusiasm. He enriched the lives of all who knew him.”
Read more about Judge Farris’ legacy here.
|
|
Seasons Greetings from the ABF Staff
The staff of the American Bar Foundation wishes you a safe and festive holiday season and a happy New Year! We thank you for supporting research that matters.
|
|
Pictured: the staff of the American Bar Foundation
|
|
The American Bar Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in publications or presentations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Bar Foundation, nor the policy positions of the American Bar Association or its affiliates. The AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION, ABF and related seal trademarks as used by the American Bar Foundation are owned by the American Bar Association and used under license.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|