NEW YORK- LAWFUEL – Law News Network –Sept. 11, 2006–The American Lawyer(R) today announced the recipients of its third annual Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year’s award honorees are: David Andrews, Bingham McCutchen; Warren Christopher, O’Melveny & Myers; Joanne Garvey, Heller Ehrman; Conrad Harper, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Robert Pennoyer, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler; Alexander Polikoff, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest; Dick Thornburgh, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham; and William Zabel, Schulte Roth & Zabel. These individuals, as well as the law firms selected for the magazine’s 2006 “A-List” ranking, will be honored at a gala dinner on October 25th in New York City.
“These senior lawyers have made important contributions to public life while building outstanding private or public-interest practices. We’re pleased to recognize their wide range of accomplishments, as well as the examples they’ve set for younger members of the profession, through The American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Awards,” said Aric Press, editor in chief.
The recipients include:
– David Andrews, Bingham McCutchen – Andrews has enjoyed three exceptional legal careers, as managing partner of a large law firm, senior counsel to three federal agencies, and general counsel of a Fortune 100 company. As the top legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State, he negotiated the agreement to bring two Libyan suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 to trial, and reached a settlement with China after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
– Warren Christopher, O’Melveny & Myers – During his five-and-a-half-decade career, Warren Christopher has navigated some of the world’s noisiest disputes, including the Iranian hostage crisis, and the Los Angeles riots. His legal work includes 10 years as chairman of O’Melveny, where he currently serves in the firm’s office of the chair, responsible for diversity, and heads the firm’s values task force.
– Joanne Garvey, Heller Ehrman — Garvey has always stood out during her 45-year legal career, becoming the first woman partner at a major San Francisco law firm, the first woman elected to the board of governors of the State Bar of California, and the first woman president of The Bar Association of San Francisco. In private practice, she earned a reputation as one of the foremost experts on California’s tax code, while her many public service activities have focused on improving access to legal services for all.
– Conrad Harper, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett — As one of Simpson Thacher’s busiest litigators, Harper’s career accomplishments include being the first African American partner at Simpson Thacher, one of the first at any large firm in New York City, and the first black president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He served as legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State for three years and led the bar association’s efforts to address racial inequality in the legal profession.
– Robert Pennoyer, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler — Pennoyer originally found his niche in the firm’s tax-exempt and trusts and estates practices and was the point person between the firm and the Rockefeller Foundation for 20 years. He played a key role in transforming the firm from a 40-lawyer corporate shop to a national litigation player, while building a network of pro bono clients and a tradition of public service.
– Alexander Polikoff, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest — Over the course of his 40 years as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago, Polikoff played a key role in dozens of cases, including the famous Gautreaux decision. Under Polikoff’s stewardship, the Gautreaux Assisted Housing Program helped 25,000 blacks escape city slums between 1976 and 1998.
– Dick Thornburgh, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham — Thornburgh’s career has spanned a wide variety of private and public roles, from U.S. attorney to attorney general to two-term governor of Pennsylvania. He served as the point person for the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and, since 1995, has been counsel in Kirkpatrick’s Washington, D.C., office.
– William Zabel, Schulte Roth & Zabel — A top trusts and estates lawyer, Zabel’s client list reads like something out of the tabloids – Howard Stern, Michael Crichton, Greg Norman, George Soros, various Rockefellers. But the 68-year-old founding partner of the firm has also been a crusader for human and civil rights in the United States and abroad, traveling to the Philippines, the former Soviet Union, Chile, Romania, Hong Kong, and China to spotlight and help resolve human rights abuses.
For information on the awards gala dinner, please contact Kevin Iredell at (212) 545-6170 or e-mail kiredell@alm.com.
The American Lawyer is the legal industry’s leading monthly magazine. Read by partners at corporate law firms, in-house counsel, government lawyers, and litigators at firms of all sizes, its trailblazing features about attorneys and the work they do has led to 23 National Magazine Award nominations and five coveted awards for general excellence, essays and criticism, and single-topic issues. The magazine is published by ALM.
Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and business communities. ALM currently owns and publishes 38 national and regional magazines and newspapers, including The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel(R), The National Law Journal(R) and Real Estate Forum(R). ALM’s Law.com(R) is the Web’s leading legal news and information network, while ALM’s GlobeSt.com(R) is the Web’s leading information source for commercial real estate professionals. Other ALM businesses include book and newsletter publishing, court verdict and settlement reporting, production of professional trade shows, conferences and educational seminars, market research and content distribution. ALM was formed by U.S. Equity Partners, L.P., a private equity fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP. More information on ALM’s businesses and services is available on the Web at www.alm.com.
