Fordham Law Alumni Awards

Fordham Law’s Alumni of Distinction exhibit celebrates graduates of the Law School who have broken barriers in the legal profession, opened doors for underrepresented groups, blazed trails for future generations, and made an indelible mark on our country and around the world.

Past recipients include Eunice Carter, Franklin H. Williams, Geraldine Ferraro, and Ruth Whitehead Whaley.

The Medal of Achievement is presented to an alumnus or alumna of the Law School who has a distinguished career in law or business. The award presentation is the centerpiece of the FLAA Annual Luncheon.

Honorees
1952 - Hon. John T. Loughran
1953 - George H. Coppers
1954 - Andrew B. Shea
1955 - Hon. Albert Conway
1956 - Louis Stein
1957 - Hon. Thomas J. Brogan
1958 - Hon. Vincent L. Leibell
1959 - Edward B. Schulkind
1960 - Hon. Adrian P. Burke
1961 - Henry M. Hogan
1962 - Hon. William C. Hecht, Jr.
1963 - Hon. Sylvester J. Ryan
1964 - Henry Mannix
1965 - Hon. James B.M. McNally
1966 - Hon. Malcolm Wilson
1967 - Hon. Joseph W. McGovern
1968 - George A. Brooks
1969 - Hon. John N. Mitchell
1970 - Hon. Irving R. Kaufman
1971 - Hon. William H. Mulligan
1972 - Caesar L. Pitassy
1973 - John B. Henrich
1974 - Donald M. Dunn
1975 - Denis McInerney
1976 - Hon. Louis J. Lefkowitz
1977 - William R. Meagher
1978 - Harry J. McCallion
1979 - Hon. David N. Edelstein
1980 - John D. Feerick
1981 - Paul J. Curran
1982 - Hon. Joseph M. McLaughlin
1983 - Hon. Lawrence W. Pierce
1984 - Hon. Irene J. Duffy
1984 - Hon. Kevin Thomas Duffy
1985 - Archibald R. Murray
1986 - John R. Vaughan
1987 - John D. Calamari
1988 - Hon. John F. Keenan
1989 - James F. Gill
1990 - Hon. John M. Cannella
1991 - Frances G. Berko
1992 - Thomas R. Donahue
1993 - Andrew J. Maloney
1994 - Patricia M. Hynes
1995 - Constantine N. Katsoris
1996 - James E. Tolan
1997 - Hon. Robert J. Callahan
1998 - Hon. Loretta A. Preska
1998 - Thomas J. Kavaler
1999 - Michael K. Stanton
1999 - Ernest E. Stempel
2000 - William F. Harrington
2001 - William P. Frank
2002 - Thomas A. Moore and Hon. Jacqueline Silbermann
2003 - George C. Ross
2004 - Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr.
2005 - Hon. Geraldine Ferraro
2006 - Maureen Scannell Bateman and Hon. Denny Chin
2007 - Denis F. Cronin and Margaret M. Hill
2008 - Dennis J. Kenny
2009 - John R. Costantino
2010 - Joseph E. Geoghan
2011 - John H. Wolff
2012 - Hon. Arthur J. Gonzalez
2013 - Mark H. Tuohey III
2014 - James Quinn
2015 - James S. Brown
2016 - Hon. Cathy Seibel
2017 - Mark J. Hyland
2018 - Bradley J. Butwin
2019 - Kim Koopersmith
2020 - Michael K. Stanton, Jr.
2022 - Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
2023 - Megan Hogan
2024 - Eric F. Grossman 

The Medal of Achievement was not awarded in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rising Star Awards recognize the extraordinary achievements of three distinguished alumni who have graduated within the past 15 years in the areas: Private Practice; In-House and Business; and Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit.

Honorees

2012
Private Practice: Todd G. Cosenza ’98
In-House and Business: Samrat S. Khichi ’98
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Edward Skyler ’00

2013
Private Practice:Daniel F.X. Geoghan ’99
In-House and Business: Martha A. Heinze ’98
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Sean K. O’Neill ’98

2014
Private Practice: Gavin N.L. White ’01
In-House and Business: Christopher Brennan ’00
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Betsy Tsai ’01

2015
Private Practice: Rosevelie Márquez Morales ’02
In-House and Business: Chieh Huang ’08
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Anamaria Segura ’07

2016
Private Practice: Carrie A. Tendler ’05
In-House and Business: Kristy Rogan Meringolo ‘06
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Daniel Gross ’07

2017
Private Practice: Yehudah L. Buschweitz '02
In-House and Business: Christopher J. Miritello '08
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Marcie Kobak '11

2018
Private Practice: Gregory E. Xethalis ’05
In-House and Business: Gina N. Scianni ‘04
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Aya Fujimura-Fanselow ’04

2019
Private Practice: Elisa D'Amico ’06
In-House and Business: Grissel Seijo ’06
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Alessandra Biaggi ’12

2020
Private Practice: Lauren K. Handelsman ’06
In-House and Business: Lee Jason Goldberg ’08
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Erin Miles Cloud ’11 

2022
Private Practice: Kelly E. Herbert ’15
In-House and Business: Jessica Villanella ’13
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Annie Chen, ’09

2023
Private Practice: Michelle Chan '15
In-House and Business: Stephen Cugliari '19
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Akilah Browne ‘19

2024
Private Practice: Khasim Lockhart '18
In-House and Business: Alexander Zozos '14
Government, Public Interest, and Nonprofit: Lynda Garcia '12

The Rising Star was not awarded in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Richard J. Bennett Memorial Award recognizes corporate leaders with the highest standards of ethical conduct, moral purpose, and selfless commitment. It is dedicated to the memory of Dick Bennett ’42, who established himself as a nationally recognized corporate leader during his exceptional career at Schering-Plough Corporation, where he served as General Counsel, President, and Chairman. The award is presented during the annual Corporate Counsel Dinner.

Honorees
1996 - Eugene F. Murphy ’59
1997 - Joseph E. Geoghan ’64
1998 - Mary M. McDonald ’69
1999 - Dennis J. Kenny ’61
2000 - John J. Higgins ’58
2001 - Maureen Bateman ’68
2002 - Paul Soden ’68
2003 - John Costantino ’70
2004 - Michael Saperstein ’65
2005 - Finbarr O’Neill ’76
2006 - Mark Walsh ’84
2007 - T.J. Maloney ’79
2008 - Paul Tanico ’80
2009 - Robert A. Ferris ’66
2010 - James Leitner ’82
2011 - Don Urgo ’62
2012 - Eric Grossman ’93
2013 - Andy Hinton ’89
2014 - Louise Firestone ’85
2015 - John K. Mara '79
2016 - Conrad P. Volstad '82
2017 - Rich Ross '86
2018 - Marjorie De La Cruz '98 (event cancelled due to winter storm)

The Fordham-Stein Prize is a national prize that recognizes the positive contributions of the legal profession to American society. The Prize honors individuals whose work exemplifies outstanding standards of professional conduct, promotes the advancement of justice, and brings credit to the profession by emphasizing in the public mind the contributions of lawyers to our society and to our democratic system of government. The Prize consists of a stipend and a commemorative sculpture designed by Tiffany & Co. It is presented at the annual Fordham-Stein Prize Dinner.

Honorees
1976 - Henry J. Friendly
1977 - Edward H. Levi
1978 - Warren E. Burger
1979 - Wade H. McCree, Jr.
1980 - Archibald Cox
1981 - Warren M. Christopher
1982 - William H. Webster
1983 - Potter Stewart
1984 - Edward Weinfeld
1985 - Edward Bennett Williams
1986 - Shirley M. Hufstedler
1987 - Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
1988 - Robert M. Morgenthau
1989 - Marian Wright Edelman
1990 - William Hughes Mulligan
1991 - William P. Rogers
1992 - Sandra Day O’Connor
1993 - Cyrus Vance
1994 - Milton Pollack
1995 - Lloyd N. Cutler
1996 - Gerald Bard Tjoflat
1997 - Charles Alan Wright
1998 - George J. Mitchell
1999 - William H. Rehnquist
2000 - William T. Coleman, Jr.
2001 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2002 - Judith S. Kaye
2003 - John D. Feerick
2004 - Patricia M. Wald
2005 - Griffin B. Bell
2006 - Joseph M. McLaughlin
2007 - Robert B. Fiske, Jr.
2008 - Stephen G. Breyer
2009 - John F. Keenan
2010 - Theodore B. Olson
2011 - Kenneth Feinberg
2013 - Jack B. Weinstein
2014 - Mary Jo White
2015 - Eric H. Holder, Jr.
2016 - Guido Calabresi
2017 - Anthony M. Kennedy
2018 - Elena Kagan
2019 - Barbara D. Underwood
2021 - Robert A. Katzmann
2022 - Kenneth C. Frazier

The Fordham-Stein Prize was not awarded in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy.
The Fordham-Stein prize was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fordham Law School Milton Fisher '42 Second Harvest Award honors a graduate who, in a lifetime of extraordinary achievement, has embodied the Law School’s highest ideals of excellence and service. 

Honorees
2007 - Ernest E. Stempel ’46
2008 - Emil “Mike” Dominianni ’57
2009 - James F. Gill ’56
2010 - Edward Greason ’58
2011 - Dennis J. Kenny ’61
2012 - Eugene Souther ’59
2013 - Stephen J. Fearon ’63
2014 - James E. Tolan ’62
2015 - Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel '63
2016 - Joseph E. Geoghan '64
2017 - Hon. John F. Keenan '54
2018 - Margaret M. “Peggy” Hill ’64
2020 - E. Carter Corriston, Sr. '60 (posthumously)
2022 - Paul Soden FCRH ’65 LAW ’68
2023 - Constantine N. Katsoris GABELLI ’53 LAW ’57
2024 - James W. Quinn ’71

The Milton Fisher '42 Second Harvest Award was not awarded in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.