Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards

 Award Purpose

The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession is now accepting nominations for the 35th Annual Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. The award was established in 1991 to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women lawyers. Each year, this award honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence within their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers. These women demonstrate excellence in a variety of professional settings and personify excellence on either the national, regional, or local level.

Criteria

• The individual achieved professional excellence in her field AND
• Influenced other women to pursue legal careers, OR
• 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.
• Nominees may be ABA members or nonmembers.
• Sitting members of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession may not be nominated.

Nomination Application Requirements

A. Nomination Form - Complete and submit the online nomination form.

Nominators may be asked to register for a SurveyMonkey account, if not already registered, before gaining access to the application portal.

This form must be submitted for both new nominations and for repeat nominations.

B. Nominee's Resume - Include the nominee's resume or biography, describing her background and contributions.

C. Award Criteria Narrative - In no more than three typed pages, provide specific, concrete examples for criterion #1 and at least one of criteria numbers 2 through 4 below:

1. The individual achieved professional excellence in her field AND
2. Influenced other women to pursue legal careers, OR
3. Opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them, OR
4. Advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession.

D. Articles and Letters - To present a comprehensive picture of the nominee, please include both (1) up to 10 news or magazine articles written by or about the candidate and (2) no more than 5 letters of support from individuals or organizations. The Commission relies on the entire nomination packet in selecting each year's honorees. The limitation on articles and letters of support will be observed; anything in excess of 5 letters or 10 articles will not be considered. A letter of support can have a maximum of 5 signatories only. For this category, the number of pages is capped at 80.

E.  Complete Submission Package - Friday, January 10, 2025 at 5:00pm CST

Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Additional Procedures

1. The nomination form and your supporting materials constitute the SOLE basis for the nomination. Materials will not be returned.
2. It is required that the individual being nominated be notified by you prior to your submitting her nomination for the Margaret Brent Award.
3. The limitation on articles and letters of support will be observed. Anything in excess of 5 letters or 10 articles will not be considered.
4. A letter of support can have a maximum of 5 signatories only. Letters with more than 5 signatories will not be considered.
5. Current ABA Commission on Women in the Profession members are not eligible for the Brent Award for the duration of their terms.
6. Those individuals actively running for an ABA elected officer position at the time of the Brent Selection Meeting (held in conjunction with the ABA Midyear Meeting) are not eligible to receive a Brent Award during that awards cycle. Elected officers of the Association are the President, the President-Elect, the Chair of the House of Delegates, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.
7. Please be advised that honorees must be present at the awards ceremony to be eligible to receive the award. * Posthumous nominations will not be accepted. 
8. If you submitted a nomination packet in 2023 or 2024 and would like to resubmit the nomination, the re-submitted packed must include the previously submitted packets, as well as (1) new award criteria narrative and (2) and an updated resume.
9. Note: ABA policy requires that, prior to finalizing an award selection decision and announcing award recipients’ names, the Commission must undertake a screening of the award candidate(s) to ensure a candidate is in good standing professionally and in the community and is of good character overall. This includes a review of the candidate’s standing with the bar(s) of all jurisdictions where they are admitted to practice and of the ABA National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank to ensure the individual is in good standing and not pending disciplinary or other adverse action.

*Extenuating circumstances preventing in-person acceptance of the award after confirming an honoree, such as serious illness, will be considered on an individual basis.

Helpful Tips

1. It is required that you register for an account in order to submit a nomination. Those who have previously registered to submit a nomination can use the same login, or if needed, use the "forgot password" option. Please check your junk e-mail or spam filters if you do not receive a notice.
2. Submitting your application may take upwards of five minutes or longer. Larger file sizes will increase the time necessary to complete submission. Please note this, and begin your final submission well in advance of the deadline, as late submissions will not be accepted. 
3. Supplemental materials can be added to nominations after the initial submission if the limitations have not been met and the deadline has not passed. Please contact Chanelle Torres at Chanelle.Torres@americanbar.org or at 312.988.5715 to make these changes, noting that changes may take up to ten minutes or more and no changes will be made after the deadline. 
4. Please note that other applicants may also be submitting their materials in the final hours before the deadline. While our system is equipped to handle multiple submissions at once, this may increase the total submission time. Please plan accordingly.
5. The act of uploading materials to the portal is not identical to submitting the final application for review. Applicants may upload materials in increments until the application is complete, but final submission of the materials must be completed by the deadline. Please be sure to complete the process using the 'Submit' button.
6. Commission staff will gladly answer any questions about uploading or submitting material and/or troubleshoot any problems. Please reach out to Chanelle Torres at Chanelle.Torres@americanbar.org or at 312.988.5715 for assistance. Please note that this may take additional time. Please plan accordingly.