Philadelphia Lawyer Edward W. Madeira Jr. Honored by ABA Justice Center
for Dedication to Improving the Administration of Justice

CHICAGO, July 13, 2009 – Edward W. Madeira Jr. of Philadelphia, senior counsel and chair emeritus with Pepper Hamilton LLP, is the recipient of the 2009 John Marshall Award from the American Bar Association Justice Center.  He will receive the award July 31 at the ABA Annual Dinner in Honor of the Judiciary during the association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago.
 
The John Marshall Award is named in honor of the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, who is credited with establishing the independence of the judiciary and enhancing its moral authority.  The award recognizes those dedicated to the improvement of the administration of justice.
 
Madeira has been with Pepper Hamilton since 1953.  After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School he served as a law clerk for Justice John C. Bell Jr. of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court before joining the firm.  Through an accomplished legal career he has contributed his time and talent to investigating, building support for and implementing policies and procedures designed to improve the administration of justice, reform the judicial system and increase access to justice.
 
In a letter of support for Madeira’s nomination for the award, Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania wrote, “To all projects he brings with him decades of knowledge regarding the practice of law, the operation of the court system, the ethical components of both, and combines this knowledge and experience with unmatched zeal and enthusiasm.  I simply cannot put into writing the valuable resource that Ed Madeira has become to our Commonwealth.”
 
A nationally recognized leader in judicial independence, Madeira has served numerous leadership roles within the ABA, including chair of the Standing Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements, the Presidential Commission on the Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence, and the Presidential Commission on the 21st Century.  He is the special advisor to the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence, and the co-chair of ABA President Thomas H. Wells Jr.’s Commission on Fair and Impartial State Courts, which hosted the recent summit, “Justice is the Business of Government: The Critical Role of Fair and Impartial State Courts.” 
 
Appointed in 2005 by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to the state’s Judicial Independence Commission, a select group of judges and lawyers, Madeira devoted much time to chairing or attending meetings of judges, bar association leaders, legislators and community organizations to gain input and offer perspectives on how to promote understanding of, and protection for, judicial independence. He has traveled widely across Pennsylvania speaking about why an independent judiciary is fundamental to our system of justice.
 
Madeira will receive the award at the July 31 dinner at the Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place, 6:30 – 10:30 p.m.  The event will take place during the association’s Annual Meeting, July 30 – Aug. 4, in Chicago

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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