Veteran civil rights lawyer VERNON E. JORDAN, JR. was honored at the Stanford Law School last week for his lifetime of public service. Jordan, a former president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League and former executive director of the United Negro College Fund, received the National Public Service Award, given by the Law School’s John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law.
“Vernon Jordan’s career reflects Stanford Law’s fundamental and underlying values – that public service must be a central part of any lawyer’s life,” said LARRY KRAMER, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of the Law School. “He is a role model for our students as someone who has integrated a powerful, lifetime commitment to equality into a remarkably diverse legal career.”
Also on Friday, Oct. 21, the Law School honored SHARON TERMAN, JD ’04, for her pioneering work in enforcing family leave laws, both the Federal Family Medical Leave Act and California’s own family leave law, which significantly expands workers’ rights beyond the federal statute. In her current role as senior staff attorney and director of the Work and Family Project at the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center of San Francisco, Terman assists poor women, many of whom are immigrants and often undocumented, who face illegal treatment at work. She tackles pregnancy-related discrimination, violations of family and medical leave laws, domestic violence in the workplace, and harassment.
“This year’s awards are particularly meaningful at a time when lawyers and law schools are facing challenges and questions about our profession and goals,” said DIANE T. CHIN, associate dean for public service and public interest law. “Both of our awardees exemplify how public service and pro bono make legal careers meaningful and also fulfill our highest responsibilities to do justice.”
The awards were established in 2006 by the Levin Center as part of its mission to raise awareness about the importance of public service. The awards are given annually to individuals who exemplify a commitment to public service, provide models of practice that are interesting and innovative, and who make a contribution to the overall public interest legal field.
The full announcement is available on the Law School’s website.
