NAWJ PAST PRESIDENT HON. VANESSA RUIZ TO RECEIVE THE 2009 MARGARET BRENT AWARD

NAWJ Past President, District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judge Vanessa Ruiz, has been named a recipient of the prestigious Margaret Brent Award, to be bestowed by the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession at its Awards Luncheon taking place during the ABA's Annual Conference in Chicago this August 2, 2009 at the Fairmont Hotel.

As a distinguished jurist who is also active in a number of organizations that promote equal access to justice and the rule of law, the Honorable Vanessa Ruiz has made significant and long-lasting contributions to the advancement of women in the profession, and this award is made in recognition of all she has done as an outstanding leader of NAWJ. A Lifetime Member of NAWJ, Judge Ruiz has not only been an active member of NAWJ since 1996, and a member of its Executive Board in the capacities of President, President-Elect, VP of Publications, Secretary and Treasurer, but she has distinguished herself as a leader in each role as she steered the organization through difficult times. Judge Ruiz secured funding for one of NAWJ's emblematic, cutting edge educational programs, "Removing Obstacles to Justice for Immigrants" -- a significant educational program for judges that Judge Ruiz developed and that has been presented all over the country. Under her leadership, NAWJ hired a new executive director with whom she worked closely to promote NAWJ's mission and core values, as did other Presidents who came after her. As a representative of NAWJ, Judge Ruiz gave countless speeches and served on innumerable panels; as President, she wrote to appointing bodies to encourage the appointment of women and minorities to the bench; her letters to the editor shed light on important issues of the day including "And Then There Was One: With or Without Samuel Alito Jr., the Supreme Court Must Value Gender Diversity" published in the Legal Times. A recipient of the NAWJ Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award in Portland at NAWJ's 2008 Annual Conference, we are thrilled Judge Ruiz was so appropriately recognized.

The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, established by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession in 1991, recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and have paved the way to success for other women lawyers.