Herrera congratulates deputies on earning ‘two of the legal profession’s most prestigious awards’ from the American Bar Association, State Bar of California
SAN FRANCISCO (May 14, 2013) — Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese “Terry” Stewart and Government Team Chief Attorney Burk E. “Buck” Delventhal will be awarded back-to-back honors from two of the legal profession’s largest organizations for their years of dedication to public law and their distinguished service in the legal profession.
The American Bar Association has announced that Terry Stewart will receive the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, which is given to individuals who have paved the way to success for other women lawyers. Past awardees include former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Stewart will receive the award at the 23rd Annual Margaret Brent Awards Luncheon on Sunday, August 11, 2013 in San Francisco.
Stewart is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley and was the first openly LGBT president of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Stewart joined the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office as City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s first hire in 2002. Though best known for her advocacy on San Francisco’s behalf for marriage equality for same-sex couples, she has overseen the office’s full panoply of litigation work since joining the office more than a decade ago.
Separately, the State Bar of California’s Public Law Section announced that Buck Delventhal will be recognized as its 2013 Public Lawyer of the Year. The prestigious award, which is named for retired California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M George, recognizes attorneys who have the shown outstanding service in public interest law. Delventhal will receive the award on Friday, October 11, 2013 at the State Bar of California’s 86th Annual Meeting in San Jose.
Delventhal has served at the City Attorney’s Office for more than four decades. During his tenure, he has argued numerous landmark cases before the California Supreme Court, California Courts of Appeal, and the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He has led the Government Team at City Attorney’s Office since the formation of this division in the late 1970s. His expertise with the myriad issues related to municipal and state law has made his counsel among the most sought-after in California among county counsels, city attorneys and other public lawyers statewide.
“I am incredibly proud of Terry Stewart and Buck Delventhal for being recognized with two of the legal profession’s most prestigious awards,” said Herrera. “I know I speak for everyone in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office when I congratulate them on these well-deserved honors. Those of us who work with Buck and Terry are well aware of their brilliant advocacy, their consummate professionalism, and their dedication to public service. I hope these awards can help expand public awareness for everything they’ve done—and continue to do—to improve the lives of San Franciscans and countless others.”
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office has been described by American Lawyer magazine as “one of the most aggressive and talented city law departments in the nation,” and is nationally recognized for its leadership in civil rights, consumer protection, and public safety.