By American Bar Association
The American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division will present its Solo and Small Firm Awards at its annual awards luncheon during the ABA Annual Meeting on Friday, Aug. 8, at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
The awards, presented during the annual Keithe E. Nelson Memorial Military Law and Solo and Small Firm Awards Luncheon, celebrate the accomplishments and efforts of outstanding solo and small firm practitioners, as well as bar leaders and bar associations.
Judge Benes Z. Aldana (Ret.) will receive the Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes solo and small firm attorneys who are widely accepted by their peers as having significant lifetime distinction, exceptional achievement and distinction in an exemplary way. The winners will be viewed by other solo and small firm practitioners as epitomizing the ideals of the legal profession and of solo and small firm practitioners.
Aldana, a retired captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, is a nationally recognized leader in the legal profession whose career spans more than three decades of public service, judicial innovation and an unwavering commitment to justice. He recently concluded an eight-year tenure as president and CEO of the National Judicial College (NJC), the nation’s premier institution for judicial education.
Appointed in 2017, Aldana became the first Asian Pacific American to lead the NJC. Under his leadership, the college expanded its reach to serve more than 12,000 judges annually across all U.S. jurisdictions and internationally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the NJC’s seamless pivot to virtual learning, resulting in record-breaking enrollment and national recognition. In 2021, the NJC became the first organization to receive the ABA Justice and Rule of Law Award.
Committed to inspiring the next generation, Judge Aldana founded Reading and Robes, a civic education initiative that brings judges into classrooms to promote democratic values and the rule of law — reaching over 7,000 students nationwide.
Before his tenure at the NJC, Aldana served for 23 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he broke historic ground as the first Asian Pacific American chief trial judge in U.S. military history.
Aldana is a past president of the NAPABA Judicial Council and has served on the ABA House of Delegates and the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Board. He also is a recipient of the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award and the ABA Outstanding Young Military Lawyer Award.
Hannah Haksgaard will receive the Solo and Small Firm Project Award, which rewards bar leaders and associations for their successful implementation of a project or program specifically targeted to solo and small firm lawyers. She is a professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law where she teaches property law and family law. She writes on those topics as well as the rural lawyer shortage. Her most recent project is a book called “The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive.” Haksgaard received her B.A. from the University of Kentucky and her J.D. from UC Berkeley Law. After law school, she clerked for Judge Roberto Lange at the District of South Dakota and Judge Kermit Bye at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
State Bar of Texas, Law Practice Management Committee, chaired by Gregory W. Sampson, also will receive the Solo and Small Firm Project Award. The State Bar of Texas established the Law Practice Management Program in 1995, which initially served solo and small firm practitioners on questions of day-to-day practice. The program has since evolved to address new and emerging challenges in contemporary law practice.
The Law Practice Management Program is the product of a wide community of professionals. The lawyers most closely involved are members of the Law Practice Management Committee, a standing committee of the State Bar of Texas. The committee’s mission is to promote the efficient, ethical management of the delivery of legal services; the viability of practice at reasonable prices; and the management knowledge and skills of the members of the bar. The State Bar Legal Resources Division operates the daily activities of the program. Bar professionals assemble resources, educate and field questions from members, their staff and families and the public.
Daniel J. Tann, Law Offices of Daniel J. Tann, will receive the Solo and Small Firm Trainer Award, which recognizes attorneys who have made significant contributions to educating lawyers or law students regarding the opportunities and challenges of a solo and small firm practice. A 1982 graduate of LaSalle University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a dual major in accounting and organizational behavior management, Tann earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1985 from Drake University and began practicing law with the Philadelphia firm of Spear, Wilderman, Sigmond, Borish, Endy, Browning and Silverstein that same year.
Tann moved on from the firm to become the senior litigation attorney with Gordon & Weinberg PC, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation, collections, bankruptcy, matrimonial law, personal injury, real estate, civil litigation and criminal law. In January 2002, he fulfilled a professional goal and founded the Law Offices of Daniel J. Tann, a full-service law firm dedicated to providing legal services to people from all walks of life.
Tann continues his involvement in professional and civic organizations, including the Philadelphia Barrister's Association, the National Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the NAACP, and Volunteers in Aid of Sickle Cell Anemia, among others. He serves as international legal counsel for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated where he is international legal counsel and was inducted into its Distinguished Service Chapter.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/08/gpsolo-four-outstanding-bar-leaders-and-associations/)
The American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division will present its Solo and Small Firm Awards at its annual awards luncheon during the ABA Annual Meeting on Friday, Aug. 8, at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
The awards, presented during the annual Keithe E. Nelson Memorial Military Law and Solo and Small Firm Awards Luncheon, celebrate the accomplishments and efforts of outstanding solo and small firm practitioners, as well as bar leaders and bar associations.
Judge Benes Z. Aldana (Ret.) will receive the Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes solo and small firm attorneys who are widely accepted by their peers as having significant lifetime distinction, exceptional achievement and distinction in an exemplary way. The winners will be viewed by other solo and small firm practitioners as epitomizing the ideals of the legal profession and of solo and small firm practitioners.
Aldana, a retired captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, is a nationally recognized leader in the legal profession whose career spans more than three decades of public service, judicial innovation and an unwavering commitment to justice. He recently concluded an eight-year tenure as president and CEO of the National Judicial College (NJC), the nation’s premier institution for judicial education.
Appointed in 2017, Aldana became the first Asian Pacific American to lead the NJC. Under his leadership, the college expanded its reach to serve more than 12,000 judges annually across all U.S. jurisdictions and internationally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the NJC’s seamless pivot to virtual learning, resulting in record-breaking enrollment and national recognition. In 2021, the NJC became the first organization to receive the ABA Justice and Rule of Law Award.
Committed to inspiring the next generation, Judge Aldana founded Reading and Robes, a civic education initiative that brings judges into classrooms to promote democratic values and the rule of law — reaching over 7,000 students nationwide.
Before his tenure at the NJC, Aldana served for 23 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he broke historic ground as the first Asian Pacific American chief trial judge in U.S. military history.
Aldana is a past president of the NAPABA Judicial Council and has served on the ABA House of Delegates and the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Board. He also is a recipient of the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award and the ABA Outstanding Young Military Lawyer Award.
Hannah Haksgaard will receive the Solo and Small Firm Project Award, which rewards bar leaders and associations for their successful implementation of a project or program specifically targeted to solo and small firm lawyers. She is a professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law where she teaches property law and family law. She writes on those topics as well as the rural lawyer shortage. Her most recent project is a book called “The Rural Lawyer: How to Incentivize Rural Law Practice and Help Small Communities Thrive.” Haksgaard received her B.A. from the University of Kentucky and her J.D. from UC Berkeley Law. After law school, she clerked for Judge Roberto Lange at the District of South Dakota and Judge Kermit Bye at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
State Bar of Texas, Law Practice Management Committee, chaired by Gregory W. Sampson, also will receive the Solo and Small Firm Project Award. The State Bar of Texas established the Law Practice Management Program in 1995, which initially served solo and small firm practitioners on questions of day-to-day practice. The program has since evolved to address new and emerging challenges in contemporary law practice.
The Law Practice Management Program is the product of a wide community of professionals. The lawyers most closely involved are members of the Law Practice Management Committee, a standing committee of the State Bar of Texas. The committee’s mission is to promote the efficient, ethical management of the delivery of legal services; the viability of practice at reasonable prices; and the management knowledge and skills of the members of the bar. The State Bar Legal Resources Division operates the daily activities of the program. Bar professionals assemble resources, educate and field questions from members, their staff and families and the public.
Daniel J. Tann, Law Offices of Daniel J. Tann, will receive the Solo and Small Firm Trainer Award, which recognizes attorneys who have made significant contributions to educating lawyers or law students regarding the opportunities and challenges of a solo and small firm practice. A 1982 graduate of LaSalle University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a dual major in accounting and organizational behavior management, Tann earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1985 from Drake University and began practicing law with the Philadelphia firm of Spear, Wilderman, Sigmond, Borish, Endy, Browning and Silverstein that same year.
Tann moved on from the firm to become the senior litigation attorney with Gordon & Weinberg PC, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation, collections, bankruptcy, matrimonial law, personal injury, real estate, civil litigation and criminal law. In January 2002, he fulfilled a professional goal and founded the Law Offices of Daniel J. Tann, a full-service law firm dedicated to providing legal services to people from all walks of life.
Tann continues his involvement in professional and civic organizations, including the Philadelphia Barrister's Association, the National Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the NAACP, and Volunteers in Aid of Sickle Cell Anemia, among others. He serves as international legal counsel for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated where he is international legal counsel and was inducted into its Distinguished Service Chapter.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/08/gpsolo-four-outstanding-bar-leaders-and-associations/)
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