ABA Newsroom

Bernice Donald

SECRETARY, AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
2008 - 2011

Judge Bernice Donald, U.S. District Court, Memphis, Tenn., is secretary of the American Bar Association. Donald began her three-year term as secretary upon adjournment of the 2008 Annual Meeting in New York.

Donald was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and has served there since January 1996. Prior to that, she was a member of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee and General Sessions Criminal Court. She received her law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law, where she has served as an adjunct faculty member. Donald is on the faculty for the National Judicial College as well as the Federal Judicial Center, where she was a former member of its board of directors.

At the ABA, prior to assuming the position of secretary, Donald served on the Board of Governors and the House of Delegates. She is a member of the Board of Editors of the ABA Journal. She is also a member of the Council of the Section of Litigation and is a former chair of the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Legal Profession. In addition to being a member of the Section of Litigation, she is also a member of the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities; Labor and Employment Law Section; General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division; the Judicial Division; the Intellectual Property Section; and the Senior Lawyers Division. Donald also serves as secretary of the American Bar Foundation.

Beyond her work with the ABA, Donald is active in numerous other legal organizations including serving as president of the National Association of Women Judges and the Association of Women Attorneys and chair of the Memphis Diversity Institute. Additionally, she is active in the Tennessee, Memphis, and National Bar Associations, serving in vital leadership roles.

Donald is the recipient of more than 100 awards for professional, civic and community activities, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Memphis and the inaugural Diversity Award presented by the Tort Trial Insurance Practice Section during the 2008 Annual Meeting.

Throughout her career, Donald has been committed to actively promoting diversity and working to ensure that the legal profession reflects the society it serves. She is the first African-American woman to hold an officer position in the American Bar Association.