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Spirit of Excellence AwardsThe winners for the year 2004 are...
As Senior Vice President and General Counsel
of General Motors (GM) North America, E. Christopher Johnson,
Jr. has created countless opportunities for minority lawyers
to succeed in the corporate legal setting, persuasively urging
businesses’ need for diverse representation, not only
as a moral imperative but as a business necessity as well.
As an outstanding role model for minorities who aspire to
become lawyers and other professionals, Mr. Johnson has been
a dedicated and passionate proponent of greater diversity
in the legal profession. It is too late to order tickets in advance. Tickets can still be purchased before the event, but it is recommended that you arrive early. See past winners of the Spirit of Excellence Award. Find out more about the Award |
“When
it comes to the cause of justice, I take no prisoners and
I don’t believe in compromise,” Dr. Mary Frances
Berry has said of her work championing social justice and
civil rights around the world and back. Having grown up
attending segregated public schools in Tennessee, Dr. Berry
has worked tirelessly to ensure equal access to justice
and education for minorities and the disadvantaged. Whether
it is becoming the first black woman to head a division
of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
or to chair the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Dr. Berry
continues to set the standard for both professional excellence
and a commitment to greater racial and ethnic diversity.
Dr. Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American
Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.
Norma
V. Cantú has been a civil rights leader and educator
in Texas and nationwide, opening doors for many and preventing
other doors from closing. She spent eight years as the Assistant
Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. Prior to her service
as the nation's chief civil rights enforcer in the educational
arena, Ms. Cantú served as Regional Counsel and Education
Director of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational
Fund. Ms. Cantú currently focuses her efforts on
issues of equity in education as Visiting Professor at the
Education and Law Schools at University of Texas at Austin.
As
an outstanding and highly regarded jurist, Honorable Royal
Furgeson, Jr. has spent his legal career working to make
resources and opportunities available to disadvantaged and
minority communities throughout Texas. While there are many
judges in the profession who are equally committed, Judge
Furgeson's civic and professional advocacy for civil pro-bono
cases and increasing Hispanic bar membership puts him in
a league of his own, impacting the way thousands of poor
and minority Texans receive legal services and the way they
eventually view the American legal system. In his nearly
ten years on the bench, Judge Furgeson demonstrates that
one man's efforts can make equal justice for all a true
reality.
Bill
Lann Lee was the first Asian American Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice,
but his advocacy for diversity in the legal profession has
extended throughout his career. Long before that, he was
well known for his quiet determination as a progressive,
active, compassionate public interest lawyer. Representing
Asian Americans and other minorities, Mr. Lee was the first
Asian American lawyer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational
Fund, serving as a role model and mentor to minority attorneys
everywhere. Throughout his legal career, Mr. Lee has sought
out equal opportunity for all people and worked diligently
against discrimination in all forms. Mr. Lee is currently
a partner with Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP, where he chairs the firm's International/Human Rights
Practice Group.
The
first Kiowa Tribal member to attend an Ivy League law school,
Arvo Q. Mikkanen (Kiowa/Comanche) is a pioneering leader
of Indian law issues and tribal courts. Founder and President
of the Oklahoma Indian Bar Association and two-term President
of the National Native American Bar Association, Mr. Mikkanen
has written procedures and codes for tribal courts and developed
training programs for over fifty tribal judges. He helped
craft “Full Faith and Credit” legal standards,
healing a sharp rift and old wounds between state and tribal
sovereigns, which provided a measure of respect between
tribes and the mainstream legal community. Mr. Mikkanen
is currently an Assistant United States Attorney and the
Special Assistant for Tribal Relations for the Western District
of Oklahoma.
E.
Christopher Johnson, Jr.