FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jennifer Long
National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA)

Phone: 303.953.6841

E-mail: jlong@nita.org

NITA Faculty Member Judge Ann C. Williams Receives Margaret Brent Award

Louisville, Colo., September 9, 2008—

The Honorable Ann C. Williams, a long time NITA faculty member and Trustee on the NITA Board, has been given the Margaret Brent Award by the American Bar Association. 

This prestigious award, established by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession in 1991, recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and have paved the way to success for other women lawyers. 

To receive the award, honorees must demonstrate that “they have achieved professional excellence in their field and influenced other woman to pursue legal careers, opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them, and/or advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession,” according to the requirements set out by the ABA.

Beginning her career as a third grade teacher in Detroit, Judge Williams was appointed in 1985 as a United States District Judge in the Northern District of Illinois.  This distinction made her one of the youngest people ever appointed to a judgeship and the first African American woman appointed to the three-state Seventh Circuit.  In 1999, she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which made her the first ever African American appointed to that court, and the third African American woman to serve on any federal appeals court. 

As part of her extensive and illustrious career, she has taught for NITA for twenty years.

About NITA

The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) is the nation’s leading provider of legal advocacy skills training. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Louisville, Colorado, NITA pioneered the legal skills learning-by-doing methodology over thirty-five years ago and has since remained the ultimate standard in continuing legal education. With an average student/faculty ratio of 4:1 and an all-volunteer faculty drawn from a cadre of judges, law professors, and practicing attorneys, NITA’s multi-day “boot camps” deliver unparalleled professional development for nearly 6,000 attorneys each year. As a public service organization, NITA provides, at little or no cost, the same high-caliber training we provide to the nation’s largest firms to legal service attorneys, public defenders, and attorneys who have chosen to work in child advocacy, tribal law, death penalty defense, immigration, domestic violence, and other vital areas of public interest. NITA is also the nation’s third largest publisher of legal publications. NITA’s references, texts, case files, and audio-visual materials are used by thousands of attorneys and are incorporated into the curriculum at over 85 percent of the nation’s law schools. For more information, visit www.nita.org.