This list of legal awards is an index to articles related to notable awards for work related to the law, a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate conduct. [1] The list is organized by country, since contributions are typically to the law of a country rather than to international law, and are made by citizens of that country,
Country | Award | Sponsor | Given for |
---|---|---|---|
Belgium | Fernand Collin Prize for Law | University Foundation | Scientist who makes a significant contribution to law in Belgium [2] |
France | René Cassin Thesis Prize | Fondation René Cassin - Institut international des droits de l'homme | Best French-language and English-language dissertations worldwide in legal theory of human rights, international, regional or comparative human rights law. [3] |
Germany | Helmuth-James-von-Moltke-Preis | International Society for Military Law and the Law of War | Outstanding judicial works in the field of security policy [4] |
Great Britain | Yorke Prize | University of Cambridge | Essay of a University of Cambridge graduate which makes a substantial contribution to its relevant field of legal knowledge [5] [6] |
Italy | Marco Biagi Award | International Association of Labour Law Journals | Best article concerning comparative and/or international labour or employment law and employment relations [7] |
European Union | EPLO Thesis Prize Award | European Public Law Organization, formerly European Public Law Center | Best doctoral or postdoctoral public law thesis characterized by its European dimension [8] |
Norway | Holberg Prize | Government of Norway | for outstanding scholarly work in the arts, the humanities, social sciences, law, and theology, either within one of these academic fields alone or through interdisciplinary work [9] |
Switzerland | JB Scott Prize | Institut de Droit International | Best dissertation in international law in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish worldwide . [10] |
United States | Burton Awards for Legal Achievement | Burton Foundation, Library of Congress | Various categories [11] |
United States | Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law | Thomas Jefferson Foundation | Distinguished contributions in the field of Law [12] |
United States | American Bar Association Medal | American Bar Association | Exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence [13] [14] |
United States | Brandeis Award (litigation) | Federal Trade Commission | Outstanding litigators [15] |
United States | Brandeis Medal | University of Louisville | Commitment to the ideals of individual liberty, concern for the disadvantaged and public service [16] |
United States | Gruber Prize for Justice | Gruber Foundation | Individuals or organizations for contributions that have advanced the cause of justice as delivered through the legal system [17] [18] [19] [20] |
United States | Harrison Tweed Award | American Bar Association, National Legal Aid & Defender Association | Extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services for poor persons or criminal defense services for indigents [21] |
United States | Morton A. Brody Distinguished Judicial Service Award | Colby College | United States federal or state judge who embodies the qualities of integrity, compassion, humanity, and judicial craftsmanship [22] |
United States | Silver Gavel Award | American Bar Association | Outstanding work by those who help improve comprehension of jurisprudence in the United States [23] [24] [25] |
United States | William O. Douglas Prize | National Communication Association | Those who contribute to writing about freedom of speech [26] |
United States | William J. Brennan Award | Various awards | In honor of William J. Brennan Jr. E.g. Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression; [27] District of Columbia Bar; [28] International Commission of Jurists; [29] Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey; [30] National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law [31] |
United States | Thomas E. Dewey Medal | The New York City Bar Association (City Bar) | In honor of Thomas E. Dewey; presented annually to an outstanding assistant district attorney in each of the City’s District Attorney’s offices and in the Office of the City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor. [32] |
United States | Best In Law Award | Best In Law | Honors those who exhibit unparalleled dedication to their clients, innovative legal strategies, and an unwavering commitment to upholding the principles of justice.. [33] |
United States | Lawyers of Distinction | Lawyers of Distinction | Is awarded to attorneys for their excellence and achievements in the legal field based on a rigorous review process that considers factors such as professional experience, case outcomes, and peer recommendations. Attorneys who meet the organization's criteria are recognized as Lawyers of Distinction and are provided with a platform to showcase their accomplishments. [34] |
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students; it is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession. As of fiscal year 2017, the ABA had 194,000 dues-paying members, constituting approximately 14.4% of American attorneys. In 1979, half of all lawyers in the U.S. were members of the ABA. The organization's national headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, and it also maintains a significant branch office in Washington, D.C.
Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920.
The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is the only public law school in South Florida. FIU College of Law is the third highest ranked law school in the state of Florida and is ranked in the top 60 in the nation. The College of Law has also achieved the highest July bar exam passage in the state of Florida consecutively for the last seven years (2015–2022).
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) is a private law school in San Diego, California. It offers a Juris Doctor and three Master of Laws programs, including one that is exclusively online, as well as a combined J.D./M.B.A. with San Diego State University.
Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL) is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1923 and is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools.
TheHolberg Prize is an international prize awarded annually by the government of Norway to outstanding scholars for work in the arts, humanities, social sciences, law and theology, either within one of these fields or through interdisciplinary work. The prize is named after the Danish-Norwegian writer and academic Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754). The Holberg Prize comes with a monetary award of 6 million Norwegian kroner (NOK), which are intended to be used to further the research of the recipient. The winner of the Holberg Prize is announced in March, and the award ceremony takes place every June in Bergen, Norway.
Stetson University College of Law, founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Florida. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel. The College of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1931. The college also has a campus in Tampa, Florida that shares space with a working court, Florida's Second District Court of Appeal.
The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1905.
The Oyez Project is an unofficial online multimedia archive website for the Supreme Court of the United States. It was initiated by the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law and now also sponsored by Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute and Justia.
Rodney A. Smolla, is an American author, First Amendment scholar and lawyer. He is currently the president of the Vermont Law School, and was the 11th president of Furman University.
Raymond Theodore Nimmer (1944–2018) was an attorney and former dean of the University of Houston Law Center in Houston, Texas.
The Gruber Foundation is a philanthropic foundation established by Peter and Patricia Gruber and is based at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Its mission is to honor and encourage excellence in the fields of cosmology, genetics, neuroscience, justice, and women's rights, which encompasses three major programmatic initiatives: the Gruber Prizes and the Young Scientists Awards; the Gruber Science Fellowship Program; and the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women's Rights at Yale Law School.
Fali Sam Nariman was an Indian jurist. He was a senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India from 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman was an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration. He was honoured with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018. He was one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and argued several leading cases. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975.
Evan Anderson Davis is a New York City attorney with the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and a former president of the New York City Bar Association.
Jerome Joseph "Jerry" Shestack was a Philadelphia lawyer and human rights advocate active in Democratic Party politics who served as president of the American Bar Association (ABA) from 1997 to 1998. He chaired the International League for Human Rights for twenty years, and was appointed the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1979 to 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. Shestack was regularly listed on the National Law Journal's list of the 100 most influential U.S. lawyers. He had multiple grandchildren the youngest being Andrew Justice Doss.
Cooley Law School (Cooley) is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the Spring of 2022, Cooley had approximately 500 students between its two campuses. In November 2020, Western Michigan University's board of trustees voted to end its affiliation with Cooley, which began in 2014, with disassociation effective November 5, 2023. As of 2024, Cooley has failed to reach the 75% two year bar passage required of ABA Standard 316 for continued accreditation.
The William O. Douglas Prize is given by the Commission on Freedom of Expression of the Speech Communication Association to honor those who contribute to writing about freedom of speech. The Award is named after William O. Douglas, who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 to 1975.
The Silver Gavel Award is an annual award the American Bar Association gives to honor outstanding work by those who help improve comprehension of jurisprudence in the United States.
The American Bar Association Medal is the highest award given by the American Bar Association for "exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence." The ABA Board of Governors chooses the medal's recipient. The medal was authorized at the 50th anniversary meeting of the ABA in 1928. The first medal was given in 1929 and it has been given most, but not all, years since.