Recently retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona Ruth V. McGregor, reknowned throughout the country as a model for state court high judges, has been selected to receive the prestigious American Inns of Court’s 2009 A. Sherman Christensen Award. The award will be presented by Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the American Inns of Court’s Celebration of Excellence, hosted by Justice Antonin Scalia, at the United States Supreme Court, on October 17, 2009.
Given in the name of the founder of the first American Inn of Court, this award is bestowed upon a member of an American Inn of Court who has provided distinguished, exceptional and significant leadership to the American Inns of Court movement. The recipient exemplifies the qualities of leadership and commitment displayed by Judge A. Sherman Christensen. In addition to the award’s namesake, previous award winners have included Chief Justice Warren Burger, Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Honorable Randy Holland of the Supreme Court of Delaware, and last year’s recipient, Honorable Hugh Maddox of Alabama.
Justice McGregor is a founding member of the Sandra Day O’Connor American Inn of Court, which was the first Inn formed in Arizona. Active in that Inn for over 20 years, she has given of her time by serving in leadership positions within the Sandra Day O’Connor Inn and at the national American Inns of Court Foundation. As a past president and program chair of her Inn, she played a significant role in mentoring younger members. As a member of the Board of Trustees of the national Foundation, she served as national secretary and a member of the executive committee, in addition to numerous other committees. She was also a leader in establishing the Sandra Day O’Connor Award, which will incidentally be presented on the same evening.
Justice McGregor graduated summa cum laude and first in her class at the University of Iowa in 1964. She then earned her M.A. from the University of Iowa and taught English and Speech to high school students in Phoenix, Arizona and Selma, Alabama for several years prior to attending law school. Justice McGregor graduated from Arizona State University College of Law in 1974, again finishing first in her class. She also earned an L.L.M. from the University of Virginia in 1998.
Justice McGregor worked as an employment attorney for the Phoenix law firm Fennemore Craig from 1974 to 1989. During her career in private practice, Justice McGregor took leave from the firm to serve as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court from 1981 to 1982. She was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1989 and appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in 1998. Justice McGregor served as Vice Chief Justice to the Arizona Supreme Court from January 2002 to June 2005, and served as Chief Justice to the Court from June 2005 until her retirement at the end of June of this year.
The American Inns of Court Foundation, America’s oldest, largest and fastest growing mentoring organization, presents the Christensen Award annually. It is funded in part by an endowment established by LEXIS-NEXIS. Information about this event and gala banquet may be found at www.innsofcourt.org.
Contacts:
American Inns of Court
David P. Carey
Executive Director
703-684-3590
dcarey@innsofcourt.org