Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch of the Supreme Court of the United States Receives Honorary Fellowship
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF., MARCH 11, 2019 – The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) presented Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch of the Supreme Court of the United States with Honorary Fellowship at its 2019 Spring Meeting in La Quinta, California, on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
The American College of Trial Lawyers is composed of Fellows who represent the best of the trial bar in the United States and Canada. There are more than 5,800 Fellows of the College, including Judicial Fellows elected before ascending to the bench, and Honorary Fellows, who have attained eminence in the highest ranks of the legal profession, the judiciary, or public service.
College President Jeffrey S. Leon, LSM of the law firm Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto, Ontario said, “We are so pleased that Justice Gorsuch has joined the ranks of our Honorary Fellows, which historically have included all of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of Canada. We welcome him and look forward to his ongoing association with the College.”
Past President Gregory P. Joseph of the Joseph Hage Aaronson LLC law firm in New York, New York said in his introduction of Justice Gorsuch: “He now sits in the seat that was the seat of Justice Scalia, before that Justice Rehnquist, before that John Marshall Harlan II, before that Robert Jackson, before that Charles Evans Hughes. It goes back to Stephen Field. It is a highly highly distinguished place for anyone to be, and we have an honoree who is qualified by character, by intellect and training. We’re very fortunate and honored that he’s agreed to accept honorary fellowship in this College.”
Justice Gorsuch said, “I’ve been a trial lawyer for quite a while, but I admire this organization very much. I’ve done a lot of work with it over the years. I think very highly of what you’re doing on civil justice reform, with IAALS [Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System], among others, what you’re doing in criminal justice reform, these are very important things. There’s only so much judges can do or should do. This is government by we the people, and if people like you don’t stand up and worry about things like access to justice, nobody else is going to. More than that I admire the professionalism and the camaraderie that this organization displays. Plaintiffs and defendants, Republicans and Democrats and everything else, we need more places like this where we can come together, recognize that we are people first, persons behind our positions, and spend time with one another, recognize that everybody in this room and everybody we deal with and disagree with on a daily basis, loves this country every bit as much as we do. I admire this organization and I thank you for doing what you’re doing, keep it up.”
Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice, received a B.A. from Columbia University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a D.Phil. from Oxford University. He served as a law clerk to Judge David B. Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and as a law clerk to Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States. From 1995–2005 he was in private practice, and from 2005–2006 he was Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 2006. Justice Gorsuch served on the Standing Committee on Rules for Practice and Procedure of the U.S. Judicial Conference, and as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Appellate Procedure. His career also includes teaching at the University of Colorado Law School. Justice Gorsuch was nominated by President Trump as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on April 10, 2017. Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Gorsuch moderated a panel at the College’s 2016 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in his capacity as a participant in the 2015-2016 United Kingdom – United States Legal Exchange sponsored by the College. Justice Gorsuch is the author of his book titled, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.
About The American College of Trial Lawyers
The American College of Trial Lawyers is composed of preeminent members of the Trial Bar from the United States and Canada and is recognized as the leading trial lawyers organization in both countries. Fellowship is extended by invitation only to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. The College is dedicated to maintaining and seeking to improve the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics, and the administration of justice. The College strongly supports the independence of the judiciary and respect for the courts in the United States and Canada; that independence is fundamental to our democratic societies. For more information about the College, visit its website at www.actl.com.
Photo Available:
A photo of Justice Gorsuch with President Jeffrey S. Leon, LSM on the occasion of receiving Honorary Fellowship during the General Session on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the College’s Spring Meeting in La Quinta, California is available. Please contact Eliza Gano.
Contact:
American College of Trial Lawyers
Eliza Gano
Communications Manager
egano@actl.com
949.752.1801