Boston Bar to Honor Governor Deval Patrick with Beacon Award for Diversity & Inclusion

The Boston Bar Association today announced it will honor Governor Deval Patrick for his groundbreaking work creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession through his judicial appointments.

“By nominating increasing numbers of women and minorities for state court judgeships, Governor Patrick has truly changed the legal landscape to more adequately reflect the community at large,” said BBA President-Elect Julia Huston. “Through these appointments, he has set precedents that will have a lasting impact on the delivery of justice across Massachusetts. We are deeply grateful for these efforts, and congratulate the Governor on the significant achievements in diversity that he has achieved while serving the Commonwealth.”

During his time in office, Governor Patrick appointed the first African American Chief Justice, African American female Justice, Asian American Justice, and openly gay Justice on the Supreme Judicial Court; the first Native American District Court Judge; and the first South Asian Superior Court Justice. To date, the Governor has filled 164 judicial openings during his two terms in office, which represents 40% of the judiciary. Nearly half of those judges were female, and one fifth represented a minority group. 

The 2014 Beacon Award event will take place on October 14th at the Taj Boston Hotel at 6:00 p.m. The award was established in 2010 to recognize exceptional leadership in developing and implementing diversity strategies that will have a permanent influence on the Greater Boston legal profession. Past honorees include Paul Lee of AALAM and Goodwin Procter, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Northeastern University School of Law, and MassMutual.