January 30, 2012
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC H. HOLDER, JR.
RECEIVES STATE BAR ASSOCIATION’S GOLD MEDAL
ALBANY—U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. has been
honored with the New York State Bar Association’s highest honor,
the Gold Medal.
State Bar President Vincent E. Doyle III of Buffalo (Connors &
Vilardo) presented the 2012 award to the Queens native on Saturday, Jan.
28 at the President’s Dinner during the Annual Meeting in New York
City.
“Throughout his distinguished career as a federal prosecutor,
judge, deputy attorney general and attorney general, Eric Holder has
been a passionate advocate for the rule of law and the U.S.
Constitution,” said Doyle. “As the nation’s top legal
representative as well as its chief law enforcement officer, Attorney
General Holder is a role model for the legal profession, embodying those
qualities demonstrated by the best attorneys: acumen, independence and
integrity.”
Holder, appointed by President Barack Obama, was sworn in as the 82nd
U.S. Attorney General on Feb. 3, 2009 by Vice President Joseph Biden. He
is the first African-American to hold the position.
In 1997, President Clinton named Holder as Deputy U.S. Attorney
General, serving under Attorney General Janet Reno. He previously served
as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1988, Holder was
nominated by President Reagan to become an associate judge of the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
While attending Columbia Law School, Holder clerked at the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice. Upon graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the
U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors
Program.
A former litigation partner at Covington & Burling in Washington,
he has served on the boards of Columbia University, the Save the
Children Foundation and Concerned Black Men, an organization that
provides positive male role models to children in the Washington, D.C.,
metropolitan area.
The 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the largest
voluntary state bar association in the nation. It was founded in
1876.
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