Trial Magazine

At the 2019 Annual Convention in San Diego, AAJ recognized a distinguished group of trial lawyers and activists. Several are highlighted below, and more award recipients are listed on p. 67.

The Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award, which celebrates people whose cases help tell the story of the American civil justice system, was presented to Tanuja Gupta, Christopher Schmidt, Emanuel Schorsch, Obasi Shaw, and Vicki Tardif, representatives of Googlers for Ending Forced Arbitration. Since a November 2018 walkout joined by thousands of Google employees worldwide to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment claims, the group has demanded publicly that Google end unfair employment practices such as pay inequity and forced arbitration. In March—in direct response to these efforts—Google stopped forced arbitration of all employee disputes. Since then, the group has turned its focus to the tech industry at large, demanding that other employers also end their discriminatory forced arbitration practices.

Bridgeport, Conn., attorney Michael P. Koskoff ­posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a member of at least 20 years standing whose courtroom advocacy has significantly furthered the cause of justice and AAJ’s mission. Koskoff devoted his career to protecting his clients and furthering public justice—from obtaining a record jury verdict in Connecticut on behalf of a young man severely injured during a negligent surgery to winning a federal court order to stop a police department’s discriminatory hiring practices.

The Minority Caucus’s Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Soaring Eagle Award was presented to Albuquerque lawyer Lawrence E. Chacon. The award recognizes attorneys who, despite the challenges of their own professional and personal journeys, have made outstanding contributions to the legal profession and paved the way for others. Throughout his career, Chacon has sought out and helped underserved members of his community. Before becoming an attorney, he worked with inmates enrolled in substance abuse recovery programs and helped the Navajo Nation in Arizona develop cultural education programs. In his law practice, he has been dedicated to representing indigenous people whose constitutional rights have been violated, including a young man severely injured by law enforcement while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Bloomington, Ind., lawyer Betsy K. Greene was recognized with the Howard Twiggs Award, which honors an AAJ member of at least 10 years standing whose passion and professionalism reflect Twiggs’s high standards and whose courtroom advocacy and service to AAJ have brought honor to the legal profession. A member of the Board of Governors and chair of the Public Education Committee, Greene has served AAJ and its members while also tenaciously representing her clients. In 2017, Greene received the Marie Lambert Award in recognition of her exemplary leadership in the profession, her community, and the Women Trial Lawyers Caucus.

The AAJ Stalwarts Committee awards the Leonard Ring Champion of Justice Award to an AAJ member of at least 10 years standing with outstanding integrity who has demonstrated Ring’s devotion to human and civil rights. This year’s recipient was Oklahoma City lawyer and past AAJ President Larry A. Tawwater. Tawwater has fought for injured workers, patients, and consumers against powerful corporate and government wrongdoers. A staunch defender of the civil justice system, Tawwater has long been recognized for his principled advocacy inside and outside the courtroom.

Philadelphia attorney Stephen E. Raynes received the Pro Bono Award for his work to secure a $180 million fund from the Canadian government to support Canadian citizens born with thalidomide injuries. Carrying on the work of his father, who decades ago represented several of these survivors, Raynes led a multiyear campaign to compel the Canadian government to take responsibility for the harm caused by its 1960s approval of thalidomide, which causes severe birth defects when taken during pregnancy.