Legal Icons To Be Honored At Baltimore Gala

BALTIMORE, MD – The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture will host a distinguished awards gala fundraiser honoring three outstanding members of the Maryland legal community who have made significant contributions in the areas of service and achievement. This black-tie affair will take place at the museum on Saturday, December 4, 2010 from 7 p.m. to midnight with a keynote address from U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin.

The evening includes a formal sit-down dinner, live music by D.C.’s own “Nightlife” and a silent auction offering participants an opportunity to bid on the following items: a seven day/six night stay at the Lewis family’s six-acre East Hampton vacation home; three cultural art pieces; a 37” LCD HD flat-screen television; a 15-second speaking role on the new television show “Good Fellas of Baltimore” and other items on display. Guests will also witness the unveiling of a Reginald F. Lewis bust by renowned sculptor Gabriel Koren, best known for her life-sized, bronze creation of Malcolm X in New York City.

Recognized individuals include: The Honorable Andre M. Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and first African American appointed from Maryland; The Honorable Michele D. Hotten, the first African American female appointed to the Maryland Appellate Courts and Dean Phoebe Haddon, JD, LLM, the first African American dean in the University of Maryland School of Law’s 185-year history. The Honorary Chair of the gala is Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, Court of Appeals of Maryland.

“It is very fitting that the ReginaldF.LewisMuseum celebrates these outstanding Marylanders for their service and achievement in the legal community,” comments Executive Director Dr. David Taft Terry. “Honoring these individuals supports our mission to share the rich contributions of African American Marylanders, and we are proud to recognize them.” Reginald F. Lewis, the museum’s namesake, graduated from HarvardLawSchool in 1968 and, two years later, established the first African American law firm on Wall Street. The museum chose to bring this year’s gala home to recognize the accomplishments of Marylanders who carry on Reginald F. Lewis’ legacy.

The Honorable Andre M. Davis

Judge Davis received his B.A. in American History from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he won Best Advocate in the Myerowitz Moot Court Competition, and chaired the Honor Board. The faculty awarded him the prestigious Roger Howell Award at graduation. Judge Davis has been active in numerous national and international judicial education and Rule of Law training programs through his membership on the Judicial Conference of the United States/Committee on International Judicial Relations, the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts, and the FederalJudicialCenter. He has participated in many programs, including, among others, workshops and seminars in Russia, Armenia, Poland, Ukraine, Kosovo, Swaziland, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Mali, and Egypt. Judge Davis was nominated by President Obama to a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit created by the death of Judge Murnaghan. The Senate confirmed him on November 10, 2009, and he entered on duty on November 12, 2009.

The Honorable Michele D. Hotten

The Honorable Michele D. Hotten received her B.A. degree from NewCollege, University of SouthFlorida and her law degree from the Howard University School of Law, where she served as associate editor on the Howard Law Journal. Prior to assuming the bench, she was an AssistantState's Attorney for Prince George's County; an associate with the former law firm of Farrington, Smallwood, Wells and Wyrough; and a sole practitioner. In 2010, Judge Hotten was appointed as the first African- American female to the Maryland Appellate Courts. She serves on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Fourth Appellate Circuit (Prince George’s County). Judge Hotten is a member of the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, the Prince George’s County Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Harry Cole Judicial Council, the Maryland Women’s Bar Association, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and the District of Columbia Bar. Judge Hotten is also one of the inaugural Science and Technology Fellows of the Advanced Science and Technological/Adjudicatory Resource Program (ASTAR) and a 2008 recipient of the Daily Record’s Leadership in Law award.

Phoebe Haddon, JD, LLM

Appointed in 2009 as the ninth Dean in the University of Maryland School of Law’s 185-year history, Phoebe A. Haddon, JD, LLM, is a widely respected, national leader in legal education and an expert in jury participation, the courts and diversity. Dean Haddon joined Maryland Law after more than 25 years as a distinguished faculty member at the TempleUniversity

Beasley School of Law. An accomplished scholar on constitutional law and tort law, Dean Haddon is the co-author of two casebooks in those fields and has written numerous scholarly articles on equal protection, jury participation, academic freedom, and diversity. She serves on the Council of the American Bar Association Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, the official accrediting body of American law schools. Dean Haddon earned an LLM from YaleLawSchool and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Duquesne University School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Duquesne Law Review. She received a bachelor’s degree from SmithCollege and served as Vice-Chair of the Smith College Board of Trustees until her appointment as dean.

Reginald F.LewisMuseum is Baltimore’s premier facility highlighting the history and accomplishments of African Americans with a special focus on Maryland’s African American community. A Smithsonian affiliate, the museum is the East Coast’s largest African American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with ample permanent and special exhibition space, interactive learning environments, auditorium, resource center, oral history recording studio, museum shop, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, outside terrace and reception areas. The museum is located near Baltimore’s InnerHarbor at the corner of Pratt and President Streets. The museum is also accessible on Baltimore’s CharmCity Circulator Orange and Green Routes.