Thursday 13 December 2007

Justice Chaudhry Named Lawyer of the Year

Awarded the Howard Law School ‘Medal of Freedom’ last month, Our Lord the Chief Justice has now been named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ by the prestigious National Law Journal.

“Chaudhry, the chief justice of Pakistan ...has been a strong voice for the preservation of the rule of law in Pakistan”, says Rex Bossert, the Editor-in-Chief, in the leader of the Journal's 17 December issue.

He concedes nomination of Justice Chaurdhry “is a bit of a departure, since normally our sights are set on the American legal community”, but justifies the choice saying, “The unusual choice of Chaudhry was prompted by the rare instance of a judge taking such a bold and influential stand against a government in defense of judicial independence and the rule of law.”

Bossert pays rich tributes to Justice Chaudhry, saying, “He has become an international symbol of an independent judiciary and of resistance to the excesses of military rule.... Chaudhry’s example reminds us that no government or person — whether ally or enemy — is above the law.”

A United States periodical founded in 1978, the weekly National Law Journal reports legal information of national importance to attorneys, including federal circuit court decisions, verdicts, practitioners' columns, coverage of legislative issues, and legal news for the business and private sectors.

Published by ALM, the publishers of the American Lawyer magazine, the Journal claims the highest paid circulation of any weekly periodical serving the legal community in the United States.

The ALM press release announcing Justice Chaudhry's nomination can be read here.

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