Posted at 1:16 a.m., Thursday, February 1, 2007
UH School of Law's founder to be honored
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawai'i at Manoa's William S. Richardson School of Law's founder has been selected by the American Bar Association (ABA) as the recipient of the 2007 Spirit of Excellence Award.Established by the American Bar Association's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, the award celebrates the achievements of diverse lawyers and others who contribute to the legal profession and society.
The Spirit of Excellence award is presented each year to lawyers who excel in their professional settings; who personify excellence on the national, state, or local level; and who have demonstrated a commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. Richardson will receive his award during the ABA Midyear Meeting on Feb. 10 in Miami, Fla.
"William S. Richardson has spent a lifetime exemplifying the goal of expanding racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. As the first Native Hawaiian Chief Justice of the Hawai'i Supreme Court, the founder of Hawai'i's first and only law school, and continuing role model and mentor, William S. Richardson opened educational and professional avenues for the islands' most disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups in a multitude of ways," said Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, director of the school's Center of Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law.
