Attorneys to receive ABA Medal

David Boies and Theodore B. Olson have been chosen to receive the highest award from the American Bar Association, the ABA Medal. They will receive the award during the meeting of the ABA House of Delegates at the association's Annual Meeting in Toronto on Aug. 8. The ABA Medal recognizes exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence. The medal's recipient is chosen by the ABA's Board of Governors. "It's an honor to present the ABA Medal to David and Ted," said ABA President Stephen N. Zack. "Our courts are being starved for lack of funding. Through their leadership on the Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System, David and Ted have effectively worked to protect the third co-equal branch of government and our constitutional democracy." Boies is the founder and chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, in Armonk, N.Y. He is widely regarded as one of the nation's preeminent trial lawyers. Boies has been named "Lawyer of the Year" by the National Law Journal and "Commercial Litigator of the Year" by Who's Who. Time Magazine selected him in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 1998-2000, Boies served as special trial counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice in its antitrust suit against Microsoft. Boies also served as lead counsel for former Vice President Al Gore in litigation relating to the 2000 election Florida vote count. In 2008 Boies successfully defended NASCAR against antitrust charges, and in 2010 and 2011 he represented plaintiffs suing to enjoin California's ban on gay marriage as violative of the federal Constitution. Olson is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Washington, D.C., office and is one of the nation's premier appellate and U.S. Supreme Court advocates. The National Law Journal has repeatedly listed him as one of America's Most Influential Lawyers. The American Lawyer and Legal Times have characterized Olson as one of America's leading advocates. Olson was solicitor general of the United States from 2001-2004, and from 1981-1984 he was assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Time Magazine selected him in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has argued dozens of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the two Bush v. Gore cases arising from the 2000 presidential election. The ABA Medal is given only in years when the ABA Board of Governors determines a nominee has provided exceptional and distinguished service to the law and the legal profession. Among previous recipients are legendary justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Felix Frankfurter, Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan Jr., Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy. Other recipients include Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski; human rights activist Father Robert Drinan; co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William H. Gates Sr.; and Judge Patricia Wald, member of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Published: Wed, Jul 27, 2011