NEW YORK (September 1, 2010) – The American Lawyer has announced its seventh annual Am Law Lifetime Achievement Award winners, a distinguished list that this year includes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner and former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals Judith Kaye and Winston & Strawn’s James Thompson who became Illinois’s longest-serving governor with four consecutive terms. In addition, the publication named Ben Johnson III of Alston & Bird as the second recipient of its Law Firm Distinguished Leadership Award, recognizing a law firm head who has demonstrated both remarkable professional and pro bono achievements. For profiles of these leaders and other stories, visit www.americanlawyer.com.

Each year, The American Lawyer honors distinctive careers and public service through its Am Law Lifetime Achievement Awards.  The 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award winners also include a civil rights icon, Columbia Law School’s Jack Greenberg; and three men who have put their civic duties at the core of their professional work: Hogan Lovells’s Joseph Bell; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s Robert Juceam; and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal’s Errol Stone.  Robert Joffe, Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s former presiding partner, who died last winter from cancer at age 66, became the first posthumous recipient of the award.

These individuals, as well as the 20 law firms selected for the magazine’s 2009 “A-List” and Corporate Counsel magazine’s 2009 “Best Legal Departments” awardees, will be honored at a gala dinner on October 27th in New York City.  For additional event and sponsorship information, please contact Lisa Sharpe at (212) 457-7840 (lsharpe@alm.com) or visit www.americanlawyerawards.com.

For the seventh consecutive year, a portion of the proceeds of the program will be used to support a special pro bono fellowship at Equal Justice Works, allowing the recipient to focus on full-time support of one specific cause for a year.  Previous Am Law Equal Justice Works fellows have devoted their efforts to a wide range of issues, ranging from housing and homeless rights, to human rights work, to youth justice programs and immigration, in venues ranging from Seattle to New Orleans.

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