ABA News Federal judge to receive Liberty Award from ABA

The American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section will honor Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with its Liberty Achievement Award. The award recognizes lawyers and judges who take a leadership role by demonstrating, through choices made in their careers and work done in private- or public-sector positions, that they have actively promoted diversity in the legal profession.
The award, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, will be presented to Schofield during the TIPS Welcome and Liberty Achievement Award Reception on Friday, Aug. 11, at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City. The event will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

“As we prepare this year to honor Judge Lorna Schofield, we shine a light on an extraordinary career that has achieved its own diversity milestones while inspiring many for its example of leadership, determination and vision,” said Sharon Sayles Belton, Thomson Reuters vice president of Government Affairs and Community Relations.

Schofield was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 25, 2012, and confirmed on Dec. 13, 2012, by a unanimous U.S. Senate vote (91-0) to serve as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Schofield is a graduate of the New York University School of Law (1981). After law school, Schofield became an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York representing clients in commercial and civil litigation, as well as transactional matters. She later served as an assistant U.S. attorney under New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and investigated and tried criminal cases, white collar fraud, international arms sales and terrorism from 1984-88.
Schofield returned to private practice in 1988, becoming a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton in 1991 and litigating complex commercial disputes. She has said she was one of six women partners and the only Asian partner.