The Dan Bradley Award is LGBT Bar’s highest honor. It recognizes the efforts of a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal community whose work, like Attorney Dan Bradley, has led the way in our struggle for equality under the law. Dan Bradley was the first chair of the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibility’s Committee on the Rights of Gay People, now known as the Committee for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Bradley saw the law as a powerful instrument of social justice, and he believed that lawyers had an obligation to place their skills as advocates at the service of the least powerful among us.
We are delighted to announce that Chai Feldblum is 2019’s Dan Bradley Awardee. The Dan Bradley Award is the LGBT Bar’s most prestigious award. It recognizes the efforts of a member of the LGBTQ+ legal advocacy community whose work has led the way in our struggle for legal equality. Congratulations, Chai!
Chai Feldblum received her JD from Harvard College of Law in 1985. After graduating, she clerked for Judge Frank M. Coffin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and then for Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. Chai served as Legislative Counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1988 to 1990 while also leading a group of attorneys in drafting the American with Disabilities Act. In 1991, Chai began teaching at Georgetown University Law Center, where she founded the Law Center’s Federal Legislation Clinic and served as the Center’s Director. Chai also served as Legal Director for the Campaign for Military Service, which lobbied to overturn “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Additionally, she took the lead in drafting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation seeking to prohibit discrimination by employers on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2010, Chai made history as the first LGBTQ+ Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after being nominated by President Barack Obama.
Any one of those positions would be impressive alone; together they are evidence of an illustrious career as a powerful force in the movement for equality. Chai Feldblum is a leader in our community and country. For these reasons and more, the LGBT Bar is privileged to present her with our highest honor – The Dan Bradley Award.
Previous Winners:
2019 | Lavender Law - Philadelphia
Chai Feldblum, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
2018 | Lavender Law - New York City
Justice Rosalyn H. Richter, Associate Justice, New York State Appellate Division First Department
2017 | Lavender Law 2017 - San Francisco, CA
Douglas Hallward-Dreimeir and the Pro Bono team at Ropes & Gray LLP
2016 | Lavender Law 2016 - Washington, D.C.
Kevin Cathcart, former Executive Director of Lambda Legal
2015 | Lavender Law 2015 - Chicago, IL
Mary Bonauto, Director, Civil Rights Project, GLAD
2014 | Lavender Law 2014 – New York, NY
Evan Wolfson, Founder and President, Freedom to Marry
Honorary Dan Bradley award presented posthumously to David Rosenblum, Legal Director, Mazzoni Center
2013 | Lavender Law 2013 – San Francisco, CA
James Esseks, Director of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project, ACLU
2012 | Lavender Law 2012 – Washington, DC
Jennifer Levi, Director of Transgender Rights Project, GLAD
2011 | Lavender Law 2011 – Hollywood, CA
Nancy Polikoff, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
2010 | Lavender Law 2010 — Miami Beach, FL
Jon Davidson, Legal Director, Lambda Legal
2009 | Lavender Law 2009 — Brooklyn, NY
Dr. Frank Kameny, one of the nation’s first and foremost gay activists
2008 | Lavender Law 2008 — San Francisco, CA
Shannon Minter, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Therese Stewart, Chief Deputy City Attorney, City of San Francisco
2007 | Lavender Law 2007 — San Francisco, CA
Patricia M. Logue, Associate Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County
2006 | Lavender Law 2006 — Washington, DC
Urvashi Vaid, Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation
2005 | Lavender Law 2005 — San Diego, CA
Arthur S. Leonard, Professor of Law at New York Law School and author of Law Notes
2004 | Lavender Law 2004 — Minneapolis, MN
Ruth E. Harlow, former Legal Director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; Lead Counsel in the landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas
2003 | Lavender Law 2003 — New York, NY
Matthew Coles, Director, ACLU National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project
Leslie Cooper, Staff Attorney, ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project
2002 | Lavender Law 2002 — Philadelphia, PA
Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights, San Francisco, CA
2001 | Lavender Law 2001 — Dallas, TX
Phyllis Randolph Frye, Transgender Activist and Civil Rights Leader, Houston, TX
2000 | Lavender Law 2000 — Washington, D.C.
Mark D. Agrast, Legislative Director & Counsel to Rep. William H. Delahunt, Former NLGLA Co-Chair
1999 | Lavender Law 1999 — Seattle, WA
Hon. Stephen M. Lachs, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
1998 | Lavender Law 1998 — Boston, MA
John Ward, Founder & Former Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
1997 | Lavender Law 1997 – West Hollywood, CA
Abby Rubenfeld, Rubenfeld & Associates, Nashville, Tennessee; Former Legal Director of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund
1996 | Lavender Law V - New Orleans, LA
Suzanne Goldberg, Attorney for Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund
Tom Stoddard, Former Executive Director of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund
Jeanne Winer, Trial Counsel for Plaintiffs in Evans v. Romer
1994 | Lavender Law IV-Portland, OR
William E. Adams, Jr., Nova University School of Law, Fort Lauderdale, FL
1992 | Lavender Law III – Chicago, IL
Sue Wilson, Attorney for Sharon Kowalski
1990 | Lavender Law II – Atlanta, GA
Nan Hunter, Professor, Brooklyn Law School; Former Head of Gay & Lesbian Rights Project, ACLU