Honorary Doctor of Law Past Recipients
2021 -Pedro L. Irigonegaray
Pedro L. Irigonegaray was born in Havana, Cuba, on May 11, 1948. At the age of 12, he and his mother immigrated to the United States as political refugees, and were joined later by his two sisters and father. Irigonegaray attended high school at Kemper Military School and College in Boonville, Missouri, where he earned his A.A. in 1968 before coming to Washburn University. Irigonegaray earned his B.A. in business administration and economics at Washburn in 1970 and his J.D. in 1973.
Upon successful completion of the Kansas and Florida bar examinations, he began private practice as a trial lawyer and built his professional legal practice into one of the most respected and renowned in the state of Kansas. He is the founder and senior partner of Irigonegaray, Turney, & Revenaugh, LLP, which practices tort litigation, including medical malpractice, product liability, constitutional, environmental, regulatory, gaming, contract, and criminal law. Additionally, Irigonegaray is involved in a substantial amount of pro bono work and advocacy on behalf of civil rights.
Irigonegaray is admitted to practice before Kansas, Florida and many federal courts, including the United States Army Court of Military Review, the United States Court of Military Appeals, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Among many high-profile cases and clients, Irigonegaray has served as special counsel to Governor Laura Kelly, special counsel to the late Governor Joan Finne, and as counsel for the majority of the Kansas Science Standards Writing Committee of the Kansas Department of Education's Evolution/Intelligent Design Hearings.
Irigonegaray is a former president of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, a former member of the Topeka Race Relations Council and the Kansas Hispanic Affairs Committee, a current fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and an awardee of the Daughters of the American Revolution Americanism Medal, which honors naturalized citizens for outstanding contributions to the nation.
Irigonegaray has served on various boards throughout the Topeka area, and has been an advisor or advocate for a number of organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and Kansas Appleseed. At Washburn Law, Irigonegaray is a frequent lecturer and invited speaker, and formerly served as an adjunct faculty member and board of governors member.
2020 - No Recipient Due to Covid-19
2019 - Teri Wilford Wood, '78
Teri Wilford Wood has served as chief global labor and employment counsel, advising Fortune 100 technology and financial services corporations worldwide. Wood spent more than 20 years at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), much of that time as the associate general counsel. At IBM and in her previous position as managing counsel of American Express Company, she was responsible for employment, labor, immigration, pension, benefits, and executive compensation law.
Wood has also served as an administrative judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
She is currently of counsel in the New York office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses on representing employers in global workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling, international employment issues, corporate governance and investigations, workplace training, and restrictive covenants worldwide.
Wood has also served as a member of the Board of Governors of Washburn University School of Law and is currently an advisory board member of Washburn Law's Business and Transactional Law Center.
2018 - The Honorable J. Thomas Marten, '76
The Honorable J. Thomas Marten was born in Topeka, graduated high school in Onaga, Kansas, and returned to Topeka to attend Washburn University. He received his bachelor of arts in 1973 from Washburn University and his juris doctor in 1976 from Washburn University School of Law.
He worked his way through college and law school at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. After graduating from Washburn Law, Marten served as law clerk to retired Associate Justice Tom C. Clark of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. He then spent 19 years practicing law, with an emphasis in litigation, in Nebraska, Minnesota and Kansas, including 14 years as a member of Bremyer & Wise, P.A. in McPherson, Kansas.
Marten was appointed United States district judge for the District of Kansas by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The judgeship was once held by his great uncle, the late Judge Delmas Hill. Marten hung his uncle''s photo, along with those who held that post after Hill, on the wall next to where his black robes hang to remind him of those who came before him. Marten served as chief judge of the District of Kansas from April 2014 until May 2017 and recently took senior status.
Since taking the bench, Marten has been involved in a wide range of civil and criminal litigation. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Sedona Conference, and has completed terms on the information technology committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the board of directors of the Federal Judges Association.
He taught trial advocacy at various programs and workshops throughout the United States for more than 30 years and at Harvard Law for more than 25 years. Marten taught at Wichita State University and the Department of Justice Trial Advocacy Center, has lectured at National University of Ireland, Galway, and has been a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the country, including ALI-ABA's Antitrust and Employment Law Litigation and Antitrust.
Marten, also a musician, has composed numerous songs and his three-piece string band, The Shoes, performed at the 2007 inauguration of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Marten is a founding member of the Wesley E. Brown American Inn of Court in Wichita — named after a former colleague and friend. He served on the School of Law Board of Governors and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washburn University School of Law Alumni Association in 2016.
2017 - Kerry E. McQueen, '65
Kerry E. McQueen received a bachelor of science in business from Fort Hays State University in 1961, and earned his juris doctor from Washburn University School of Law in 1965.
McQueen is an accomplished civil litigator and stockholder and president of Sharp McQueen, P.A., with offices in Liberal and Overland Park, Kansas. He was admitted to the Kansas and U.S. District Court, District of Kansas in 1965; the U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit in 1969 and the U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma in 1976. McQueen has devoted the majority of his practice to civil litigation, antitrust, collective bargaining agreement arbitration, education, health and workers’ compensation law and has served as the firm's managing stockholder since 1991.
He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he served on the State Committee from 1993-98, and an associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, where he served as president of the Kansas Chapter from 1985-1986. McQueen is past chairman of the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters serving from 1998 to 2013 and was elected to the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission from 2006-2014. He is a member and past president of the Seward-Haskell County Bar Association. McQueen is a member of the Kansas Bar Association and served as past secretary and past member of the board of governors. He is a member and past board member of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel. McQueen is a member of the Southwest Kansas Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Kansas Bar Foundation, the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the Kansas Association of Hospital Attorneys, the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys and a past member of the Defense Research Institute, Inc.
McQueen is listed in Best Lawyers of America and the Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers Top 100. McQueen received the William Kahrs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel in 2010.
2016 - John Hamilton, '65
John Hamilton graduated from the Washburn University School of Law in 1965. He received his bachelor of science in economics from Union University, Jackson, Tennessee, in 1962.
Hamilton, a senior partner with Hamilton Laughlin Barker Johnson & Jones, is widely recognized as a leading expert in the areas of eminent domain and condemnation. Prior to 2011, his specialty areas also included personal injury and trial practice.
A noted authority and national expert, Hamilton authored the chapter, "Eminent Domain Practice and Procedure," in the Kansas Real Estate Practice and Procedure Handbook published by the Kansas Bar Association in 2009. He also co-authored the Kansas chapter on "Law and Procedure of Eminent Domain in the 50 States" for the Litigation Section of the Condemnation Land Use and Zoning Committee of the American Bar Association. He is also listed in Ingram’s “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of eminent domain.
He is currently a member of the Topeka, Kansas and American Bar Associations and the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Hamilton has served on the Washburn University School of Law Board of Governors since 2011 and is a long-standing member of the Dean's Circle. Through the years, he has shared his experience with countless students, most recently in the role of counselor in a mock trial of the Wright v. Hawk boundary dispute.
He and his late wife, Louise, are longtime donors to Washburn and Washburn Law, supporting scholarships, the renovation of White Concert Hall, and the Mulvane Art Museum as well as the new school of law facility and many other Washburn initiatives.
2015 - George A. Barton, '77
George Barton grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973 and his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Washburn Law in 1977. Barton has practiced law in Kansas City for 38 years, focusing in civil litigation.
Since 1998, Barton has been principal in the Law Offices of George A. Barton, P.C., which specializes in complex business litigation. During that time, he has devoted the majority of his practice to representing mineral interest owners in royalty underpayment litigation against natural gas producers in Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
During the last 10 years, Barton has been a frequent guest lecturer to Washburn Law students on various topics related to the preparation and trial of business litigation cases. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Washburn Law Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award, which is bestowed upon Law School graduates whose careers have been highly distinguished, and whose achievements are recognized as significant in their field of endeavor. Barton is also a member of the Washburn University Foundation Board of Directors.
Barton has two children and one grandchild. He and his wife, Theresa, live in Mission Hills, Kan.
2014 - The Honorable J. Patrick Brazil, '62
The Honorable J. Patrick Brazil grew up in Chanute, Kansas. and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Rockhurst College in 1957. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law in 1962. Judge Brazil practiced law in Pratt and then Eureka, Kansas until 1972 when he was appointed as a judge of the Kansas District Court for the 13th Judicial District by Governor Robert Docking. He served as a district judge until 1985 when he was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals by Governor John Carlin. In 1995, Judge Brazil was appointed Chief Judge of the Court and served until his retirement in January 2001.
Judge Brazil continued to sit with the appellate court until July 2012. He is an associate with the firm of Associates in Dispute Resolution, LLC. in Topeka, specializing in mediations and arbitrations involving commercial transactions, employment law, insurance law, medical/legal malpractice, product liability, tort and personal injury law.
Judge Brazil is a member and past secretary of the National Conference of Chief Judges as well as past president of the District Judges Association, and served on the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission from its creation in 1985 until 1991. He also served on the Advisory Committee of the Kansas Judicial Council for Civil and Criminal Pattern Instructions. In 1994, he received an Outstanding Service Award from the Kansas Bar Association, and is a fellow of the Kansas Bar Foundation. He is a charter member and past president of the Sam A. Crow Inn of Court. Judge Brazil has been a member of the Commission on Judicial Qualifications since 1984, serving as chair from 1991 to 1994.In 1984, Judge Brazil and two other attorneys established a scholarship honoring the memory of one of their classmates, Arthur T. Ueoka, which provides for financial assistance towards tuition and books for a full-time incoming Washburn Law student. He is a member and Paul Harris Fellow of the Topeka South Rotary Club and served as a trustee of the Topeka and Shawnee County Library Foundation for six years. Judge Brazil also served on the Washburn Law Alumni Association Board of Governors and was a recipient of the Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award in 2012. This award is bestowed upon graduates whose careers have been highly distinguished, and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in their field of endeavor.
Judge Brazil and his wife, Char, live in Topeka. They have two children and five grandchildren.
2013 - Stanley C. Sager, '57
Stanley C. "Stan" Sager was born October 17, 1929, in Concordia, Kansas, attended schools in Clyde, Kansas, and won a Navy scholarship to the University of Kansas on graduating from Clyde High School. He received a B.A. degree from K.U. in 1951, was commissioned in the Navy, and served in the Pacific and in Japanese and Korean waters during the Korean war. In 1954 he was placed on the Navy retired list, having contracted a paralyzing case of polio while at sea.
Mr. Sager decided to pursue law school while a patient at the Long Beach, California, VA hospital. His first inquiry into possible acceptance by a Kansas law school was rejected since the school said it had no facilities for wheelchairs. An inquiry to Washburn Law met with "Come on, we already have a student in a wheelchair." Sager's application was accepted, and he enrolled. He overcame architectural barriers at the school with the help of students and faculty, who carried him and his wheelchair up and down stairs. He graduated in 1958 with Dean's honors.
Mr. Sager is a member of the Kansas Bar, the New Mexico Bar, and the bars of the U.S. Tax Court, the Tenth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He co-founded and was managing director and chief trial attorney for the law firm of Sager, Curran, Sturges & Tepper, which grew to 23 lawyers with offices in Albuquerque and Las Cruces by the time of his retirement in 1993.
Mr. Sager was an associate attorney with the tax and probate firm of Schroeder, Heeney and Groff in Topeka for two years after graduating. During that time he served as volunteer treasurer of the Topeka Council of Churches. He and his family moved to Albuquerque in 1959, where he practiced with McAtee, Toulouse, Marchiondo, Ruud and Gallagher, a general practice firm, where he gained trial experience. He and a partner left that firm to start their own practice in 1961. In Albuquerque, he was treasurer of the Albuquerque Legal Aid Society, board member of the New Mexico Council of Churches, president of the Child Guidance Center, treasurer and long-time board member of the New Mexico Conference Methodist Foundation, treasurer of the Zia Chapter Paralyzed Veterans of America, building committee chair of The Storehouse, and chaired three building committees for different construction projects for his church. He has been a frequent presenter of construction law seminars for architects and engineers.
He was a New Mexico State Bar Commissioner and chaired the Legal Services for the Elderly Project, a service to rural poor elderly people. He helped take the Project from a local service in Taos to a state-wide program, with over 400 volunteer attorneys. In 2001 the program received state funding, and Governor Gary Johnson appointed Mr. Sager to a commission to administer the fund. For years, Sager also provided free legal advice to three United Methodist bishops and incorporation services to over a dozen churches and other charities.
Mr. Sager served as an adjunct professor for four years in the 1990's, teaching construction law at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture. He chaired the United Methodist denominational Committee on Audit and Review from 1996-2000, chaired the denomination's legislative Committee on Finance and Administration at its 2000 General Conference, and was given the Judge Woodrow B. Seals award by Perkins School of Theology, SMU, for his work in restructuring denominational finance policies. He has authored two books, ¡Viva Elfego! The Case for Elfego Baca, Hispanic Hero, and Four Corners: Where the Holy Spirit Touches Navajo Hearts, as well as numerous articles on disability issues, professionalism and New Mexico history. He is currently working on a memoir, tentatively titled Don't Kill All the Lawyers.
He received the 1987 and 1996 Distinguished Bar Service awards, the 1991 Robert H. LaFollette Pro Bono award, and the 1998 Outstanding Service award. In 1997 Mr. Sager was given the Professionalism Award, the highest honor bestowed by the New Mexico Bar Association, for epitomizing the highest standards of the legal profession. He was designated a Living Archive by the New Mexico Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He lives in Albuquerque with his wife of 60 years, Shirley. The couple has funded a professorship in international law at Washburn in memory of their late son, Kurt, a Washburn Law graduate. They have two daughters, Gayle Keenan, and Ann Bracken.
2012 - The Honorable Christel Trolenberg Marquardt, '74
The Honorable Christel Trolenberg Marquardt began a professional career at age 19 after completing two years at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. After teaching elementary school in Tigerton, Wisconsin, for a year, she married and had four sons. She did not receive her bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Missouri Western State College in Saint Joseph until 1970. Marquardt entered Washburn University School of Law in 1971. She served as managing editor of the Washburn Law Journal and received a juris doctor degree in 1974. She was one of six women in a class of 198 students.
Marquardt started her legal career at the Topeka law firm of Cosgrove, Webb & Oman where she worked from 1974 to 1986, before becoming a partner at Palmer, Marquardt & Snyder. In 1991 she joined the Levy & Craig law firm in Kansas City and then established Marquardt & Associates LLC in Fairway, Kansas, with her son Andrew. Her legal career focused primarily in the areas of labor and employment law, representing both companies and individuals in employer-employee disputes. She also focused on family law issues. Marquardt was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1995 by Governor Bill Graves.
Marquardt was a member of the Washburn Board of Regents from July 2007 through June 2011, and served as chairwoman during the 2011 fiscal year. She was a member of the Law School's Board of Governors, and served as president of the School of Law Alumni Association. She has been a lecturer on legal issues for the American Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, Kansas Trial Lawyers, Kansas Municipal Attorneys, Kentucky Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association, Washburn University, Missouri Western University, Kansas Women Attorneys Association, Menninger Foundation, and many civic organizations.
Marquardt served as the first woman president of the Kansas Bar Association from 1997 to 1998. She serves on numerous committees of the American Bar Association, has been a member of its Board of Governors, has served in its House of Delegates since 1988, was Kansas' State Delegate from 1995 to 1999 and is currently serving in that capacity. She has volunteered on the Topeka Symphony Board and many other civic organizations.
In 2004 Marquardt received the Washburn University Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award, one of only four women who have been selected to receive this award since its inception. Marquardt remains a strong supporter of Washburn University and the School of Law.
2011 - Richard C. 'Dick' Hite, '53
Richard C. 'Dick' Hite received a B.S. degree from the University of Kansas in 1950. He received a juris doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law in 1953. He served as a judge advocate in the United States Air Force from 1953-1956.
Hite has practiced in Wichita since 1957 and is currently a partner in Hite, Fanning & Honeyman L.L.P. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation.
Hite has been active in civic and professional organizations. Among other things, he has been president of the United Way of the Plains, Kansas State Delegate to the American Bar Association, president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, chairman of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission, president of Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, and president of Washburn Law Alumni Association.
Hite was Washburn Law's recipient of the 2008 Alumni Fellow, an awards program of the Washburn University Alumni Association and University Deans, which was created in 1992. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007, an award given annually by the Washburn University School of Law Alumni Association. This award is bestowed on those alumni who have particularly distinguished themselves and brought recognition to the school through public service and through their service to the Washburn University School of Law, the legal profession, or their community. And, in 1994, Hite was honored by the law school with the Distinguished Service Award.
2010 - D. Duke Dupre '73
D. Duke Dupre received a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from Kansas State University in 1967 and served three years in the U.S. Army, with duty in Vietnam. In 1973, he earned a juris doctor from the Washburn University School of Law and worked as law clerk to Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Fatzer.
During his career, Dupre held a variety of legal positions in the telecommunications industry, retiring in 1999 as vice president and general counsel of external affairs for SBC Communications. He later served as chairman of the board of a software technology company developing encryption algorithms for military and commercial use, and retired from that position in 2005. Dupre is a member of the Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas state bar associations and the American Bar Association.
In 1999, Dupre was honored as an Alumni Fellow by the Washburn University School of Law and in 2008 he received the Washburn University School of Law Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves as president of the Washburn Law School Foundation and on the Business and Transactional Law Center board of advisors. He is a trustee for the Washburn Endowment Association and served as president and a member of the Washburn University School of Law Alumni Association Board of Governors. In 2005, Dupre and his wife, Helen, established a business and transactional law fund in their names.
2009 - The Honorable Kay McFarland '64
Chief Justice Kay E. McFarland, Retired, was born on July 20, 1935, in Coffeyville. McFarland grew up in Topeka, where her late father, Dr. Kenneth McFarland, was the former superintendent of Coffeyville and Topeka schools and was a nationally known lecturer and public speaker.
In her youth, McFarland had great interest in Tennessee walking horses, a breed known for its graceful movements, and naturally a favorite among equine aficionados. Midnight Secret was undefeated in his three years she showed him, winning the biggest horse shows in the country. She competed regularly and in 1958 was world amateur champion. In 1963, she won two major events at the National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the breed's equivalent of the World Series. Later she was very successful raising and showing Irish Wolfhounds.
McFarland graduated magna cum laude from Washburn University with dual majors in English and history/political science in 1957. She is a 1964 graduate of Washburn University School of Law and was admitted to the Kansas Bar the same year. While in law school, McFarland owned and operated a nationally advertised mail order quilt business.
McFarland's career has been a remarkable series of "firsts." Following law school, she was in private practice in Topeka until 1971, when she challenged the incumbent Judge of the Probate and Juvenile Courts in Shawnee County. With McFarland's win, she became the first woman elected to a judgeship in Shawnee County. McFarland delivered the court reforms pledged in her campaign, and reduced serious juvenile offenses by more than half in the two years she held the office.
In January 1973, McFarland became judge of the newly created Fifth Division of the District Court of Kansas, in Topeka — thereby becoming the first woman to be a district judge in the history of Kansas. Her election to this high office came after her victories over opponents in both the primary and general elections.
On September 19, 1977, she was appointed by Governor Robert F. Bennett to be a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, having the distinction of being the first woman to hold that office. She became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on September 1, 1995, upon the retirement of The Honorable Richard W. Holmes.
In 2006, the Women Attorney's Association of Topeka created the Chief Justice McFarland Award to honor her many accomplishments in the legal field. The award recognizes an individual who has achieved professional excellence in her field and has influenced other women to pursue legal careers, opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them, or advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession. The award has been presented to Justice Marla Luckert of the Kansas Supreme Court, Judge Christel Marquardt of the Kansas Court of Appeals, and Judge Evelyn Z. Wilson of the Third Judicial District Court. Chief Justice McFarland retired on January 12, 2009. Since her retirement, she continues to pursue her many interests, which include water gardening, wildlife conservation, and world travel.
2007 - Michael C. Manning
The Washburn University School of Law 2007 commencement speaker is Michael C. Manning. Mr. Manning received his BA degree in Political Science and Psychology from Emporia State University in 1971. He earned his JD degree cum laude from the Washburn University School of Law in 1977. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Washburn Law Journal 1976-1977 and was a member of Phi Kappa Phi legal fraternity. The Washburn University Board of Regents has also named Mr. Manning as the 2007 recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Law. The award will take place during the commencement ceremony.
Manning is the managing partner of the Phoenix office of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP where he has worked since 1977. His areas of practice include Commercial, Professional Liability, Bankruptcy and International Commercial Relationships litigation.
In 1994, Manning was recognized by the National Law Journal in its triennial selection of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America".
Manning is noteworthy for his astute representation in a number of ground-breaking cases, locally and nationally:
- In 1984, the FDIC chose Manning to head its litigation against New York, mob-related money broker, Mario Renda. Manning's successful multi-state civil and criminal prosecutions, ultimately resulted in Renda's conviction and incarceration, and are chronicled in the book, Inside Job. Successful civil and criminal prosecutions in New York, Florida, Kansas, California, and Hawaii concluded in 1989.
- In 1989, Manning acted as lead counsel in MDL-834 - the Lincoln Savings/Charles Keating cases. At the time, MDL-834 was the largest commercial litigation in U.S. history, involving over 51,000,000 pages of documents and over 600 depositions. Manning's team collected nearly $300 million and coordinated dozens of related criminal and administrative matters. Manning's leadership of those cases is detailed in the book, Trust Me.
- Manning accepted representation of an employee of the Arizona State Bar Association in her successful claim of sexual harassment against the Bar and its executive director.
- In 1995, Manning was retained by a group of union pension funds to pursue Arizona's then current Governor, J. Fife Symington, III, for fraud in connection with a $10 million loan he acquired from the funds to develop an office building. Manning filed a 5 count financial fraud complaint against the Governor in 1996. A few months later, the Governor was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of financial fraud which paralleled the allegations of Manning's civil fraud complaint. Manning successfully tried that fraud/bankruptcy case.
- In 1999, Manning achieved an $8.5 million settlement, the largest-ever wrongful death and civil rights settlement in Arizona history against defendants Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. He represented the sons and parents of a 34 year old man who was beaten to death by jailers while he was in the Sheriff's custody.
- Manning and his trial team achieved a $9 million Federal Court verdict against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Maricopa County in another wrongful death case.
- In 2001, Manning achieved one of the largest commercial case punitive damages award in Arizona history. The jury awarded Manning's client a defense verdict on claims made against his clients and then, in only 2 1/2 hours of deliberations, awarded his client nearly $30 million in damages.
- In 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno stated that he was one of four attorneys under consideration to serve as Independent Counsel to investigate the real-estate controversy involving President Clinton.
- In the summer of 2004, Manning tried back-to-back, three week jury trials. Manning won both trials with unanimous jury verdicts. His clients in these commercial fraud and breach of contract trials were awarded more than $20 million in damages. In 2005, Manning was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the Valley's legal community by the Business Journal's editorial board, in its "Best of the Bar" edition. He was one of only four Arizona attorneys to receive that honor.
In addition to his regional and national litigation successes, Manning has significant international experience in connection with construction contracts, technology exchange contracts, royalty agreements, distributor agreements and sales agreements in Norway, Great Britain, France, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
The May 2005 edition of Arizona Attorney magazine features the Top 10 Verdicts of 2004. Manning was lead counsel in two of the ten cases. Most notably, the largest and the sixth largest jury awards in Arizona that year.
Manning is considered one of the nation's most accomplished proponents of the use of advanced technology to reduce the cost of litigation to clients and the public.
Manning has received the Alumni Fellow Award for the law school from Washburn University in 2002 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Emporia State University in 1996. He gave the commencement address for Washburn University School of Law in 1992 and was the FBI Citizens Academy, past president.
He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Washburn University School of Law Center for Excellence in Advocacy; is chairman of the Advisory Board of LIFE TEEN, INC., a Phoenix-based charity which, through spiritual development, helps teens cope with the special challenges they face; and is an active participant and significant fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.
2006 - The Honorable Sam A. Crow
The Honorable Sam A. Crow, Senior U.S. District Court Judge, received his bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1949 and graduated from Washburn University School of Law in 1952, setting the stage for his five decades of service not only to his fellow Kansans but his countrymen as well.
After graduating from Washburn Law, he served in Korea before entering the JAG, or Judge Advocate General School at the University of Virginia. During the next 12 years while working in private practice, he completed the JAG basic course, advanced JAG course, JAG officer career course and military judge course certifications. In 1975, he completed the Selective Service Military Course in Washington, D.C., and received certification from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in National Security Management in 1977. Judge Crow served his country for more than 30 years, retiring at the rank of colonel in 1986.
In 1953 he joined the firm of Rooney, Dickinson, Prager & Crow in Topeka. He worked in private practice until 1975 arguing cases at the Kansas Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Army General Court Martial Courts. He was appointed part-time magistrate judge in 1973, becoming full-time in 1975. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the federal bench. Fifteen years later, Judge Crow became the senior judge for the district.
Judge Crow shares his talents and knowledge with others in the legal community by speaking at venues across the country including lecturing at his alma mater, Washburn University School of Law. Judge Crow has guest lectured at other law schools and legal associations, the Kansas Bar Association and Military Law institutes throughout the United States.
In addition to serving on the Washburn Law School Association Board of Governors from 1994-1998, Judge Crow has volunteered his time for Boys Scouts of America Board of Review, Grace Episcopal Church, Shawnee County Historical Society, American Legion, Riverside Hospital Board of Directors, Topeka Council of Churches Board of Directors, Shriner's, various law and social fraternities and has served as Kansas Chairman of March of Dimes.
His professional associations are numerous as are his awards and honors. In June 2000, Judge Crow receiving the Distinguished Service Award from Washburn University School of Law, the Distinguished Service Award from the Topeka Bar Association in 2000, and was inducted into the Topeka High School Hall of Fame, which honors graduates who have excelled at local, state or national levels. Since 1999, Judge Crow has served on the Attorney Disciplinary Committee of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
In 1997, The Topeka American Inns of Court in honor of Judge Crow changed its name to the Sam A. Crow American Inns of Court. Judge Crow was the organization's founding president from 1992 to 1995. The Sam A. Crow American Inns of Court emphasizes excellence in litigation, lawyering and legal ethics to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. Each year Judge Crow helps to provide scholarships for students to join the Sam A. Crow American Inns of Court.
He married Ruth M. Rush on January 30, 1948, and he and Ruth have two children, Sam A. Crow, Springfield, Missouri; and Daniel W. Crow, Topeka.
2004 - The Honorable Paul L. Brady
The Honorable Paul L. Brady, a naval veteran of World War II, received a BA in Economics from Washburn University in 1951 and a JD from the Washburn University School of Law in 1956. At the time Judge Brady was attending Washburn, he was living with his aunt, Lucinda Todd, one of the plaintiffs in the landmark decision known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which changed the face of American public education. Judge Brady abandoned his psychology career path to pursue a law degree after working with the small group that met and developed the case in his aunt's home.
After graduation from law school, he had a private law practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1957 to 1968. Beginning in 1968, he was a trial attorney and later became a supervisory trial attorney for the Federal Power Commission, until he was appointed as Federal Administrative Law Judge in 1972. He retired in 1997. Judge Brady received the Power Commission's highest award for outstanding performance, as well as receiving nationwide recognition for organizing governmental attorneys to assist in a Neighborhood Legal Service Program in Washington, D.C. He was the first African-American attorney employed by the Federal Power Commission and the first African-American to be appointed as a Federal Administrative Law Judge. A library and conference room is named in his honor in the Sam Nunn Federal Office Building in Atlanta, Georgia.
Judge Brady serves as Chairman of the Bass Reeves Education Foundation, which provides programs and materials to students to promote a better understanding of the legal system, advances the cause of justice, and coordinates local law enforcement agencies in youth activities. He has also been involved in the Feed the Hungry Program in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Carrie Steele Pitts and Florence Crittendon Orphanages where he provides counsel to the children as well as taking them on their holiday shopping spree. He participates with libraries that sponsor special occasions such as Black History observances, and he is a life member of the NAACP. Judge Brady is the author of A Certain Blindness, a book chronicling his family's history as a prototype of other African-American families' quest for the promise of America.
Judge Brady comes from a long line of individuals who have made major contributions to United States law. His family includes his uncle, Bass Reeves, a former slave, who, in 1875, was appointed a U.S. Deputy Marshal and became the first African-American to serve as a federal enforcement officer on the western frontier. Judge Brady has spent his lifetime championing for equal justice, both on the side of those asking and petitioning for equality, and on the side of deciding equal justice for those seeking it. He has volunteered in numerous organizations and speaks to groups on equality for all and the impact Brown v. Board has had on not only him, but his family. He has spent time visiting schools to discuss the need for improved race relations and how to accomplish this within the law. He has been instrumental in dispelling myths about people of different ethnic backgrounds, and his visits with students have helped change many negative attitudes. He is relentless in discussing the merits of respect for the law and humankind.
Judge Brady is a distinguished alumnus who has been directly involved in civil rights issues that have had a widespread implication on almost every individual in the nation. He was inducted into the National Bar Association's Hall of Fame. He will receive the Honorary Doctor of Law at the May 2004 School of Law commencement ceremony.