John Marshall to honor Leighton with Equal Justice Award

The John Marshall Law School will honor retired U.S. District Court Judge George N. Leighton with the inaugural George N. Leighton Equal Justice Award Thursday, June 10, at a reception and dinner beginning at 5 p.m. at The Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Boulevard. The George N. Leighton Equal Justice Award was established in honor of Judge Leighton’s devotion to protecting the rights of his clients and all citizens whatever their station in life. The award also reflects his longtime commitment and service to The John Marshall Law School as both an adjunct professor and his support of the law school’s mission of access and opportunity. Proceeds from the event establish the George N. Leighton Fellowship for the Study of Prisoners Rights at The John Marshall Law School and benefit the Edward T. and Noble W. Lee Chair in Constitutional Law. Judge Leighton served as president and general counsel for the Chicago chapter of the NAACP, handling many landmark cases. He also founded the firm of Moore, Ming and Leighton, that by the early 1960s, was one of the largest predominantly African-American law firms in the country. He was elected to the judiciary in 1964, serving in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Illinois Appeals Court and finally in the U.S District Court. He retired from the bench in 1987, and is currently of counsel at the Chicago firm of Neal & Leroy, LLC. Serving on John Marshall’s adjunct faculty since 1966, Judge Leighton has been a strong supporter of the law school’s evening program, working tirelessly with then Dean Noble W. Lee in the 1960s and 1970s to convince the American Bar Association to continue to accredit evening law school programs. Master of Ceremonies at the Equal Justice Award Reception and Dinner will be Andy Shaw, Executive Director of the Better Government Association. Also providing tribute and remarks will be John Corkery, Dean of The John Marshall Law School, Jerold Solovy, Chairman Emeritus of Jenner & Block LLP; Langdon Neal of Neal & Leroy, LLC; the Hon. Nancy Lee Johnson of Baker Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC; and Peter Faraci of Faraci & Faraci, PA. For more information on the event or to reserve tickets, contact the Department of Event Management at 312/987-1420 or email events@jmls.edu.