Hon. Elizabeth S. Stong and Kenneth G. Standard will jointly receive the 2020 Outstanding State Chair Award from the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) at its 64th Annual Fellows Awards Reception and Banquet on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. The banquet is one of several events being hosted by the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation during the Midyear Meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA) in Austin, Texas.
The Outstanding State Chair Award is given annually to a Fellows State Chair of the American Bar Foundation who has demonstrated dedication to the work of the ABF and the mission of the Fellows through exceptional efforts on behalf of the Fellows at the state level. Judge Stong and Standard are Co-Chairs for New York State.
“The American Bar Foundation is delighted to present the Fellows State Chair award to Judge Elizabeth Stong and Kenneth Standard,” said ABF Executive Director Ajay K. Mehrotra. “As Co-Chairs of the New York State Fellows, they exemplify a dedication to the mission of the American Bar Foundation Fellows and the highest principles of the greater legal profession. Together, Judge Stong and Ken Standard have continued the momentum of regularly hosting Fellows events, making the New York State Fellows one of the exemplary chapters of the ABF Fellows organization.”
Judge Stong is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Previously, she was a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and law clerk to U. S. District Judge David Mazzone. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Council of the American Law Institute, board of the ABA Center for Innovation, and the Advisory Committee of the Columbia University’s Committee on Global Thought. She holds leadership roles in the International Insolvency Institute, Practising Law Institute, P.R.I.M.E. Finance, American Bar Foundation, and ABA Business Law Section, International Law Section, and Judicial Division.
Her past positions include President of the Harvard Law School Association, Chair of the NCBJ International Judicial Relations Committee, and Chair of the New York City Bar ADR Committee. She also served on the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Standing Committee on the American Judicial System, Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education, Commission on Women in the Profession, and Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. She has trained judges in more than 25 countries on five continents, including Central Europe, North, Central and West Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Kenneth G. Standard is Of Counsel in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice at Epstein Becker Green, and General Counsel Emeritus of the Firm, having served as its first General Counsel. He also is Chair Emeritus of the firm’s Diversity and Professional Development Committee, as well as Chair Emeritus of the firm’s Quality Assurance Committee. A member of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association from 2010–2012 and again from 2012– 2015, Mr. Standard also is a past President of the New York State Bar Association. As lead or sole counsel, Mr. Standard has handled more than 40 matters to decision, in federal, state, and local trial and appellate courts, and administrative agencies.
Mr. Standard previously served as Assistant General Counsel, Labor Relations, Environmental and Benefit Plans, at Consolidated Edison Company, Director of the Office of Legal Services of the New York City school system, and Vice-President and Senior Counsel of the Products Division of the Bristol-Myers Company.
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About the American Bar Foundation
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is the world’s leading research institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. The ABF seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. To further this mission the ABF will produce timely, cutting-edge research of the highest quality to inform and guide the legal profession, the academy, and society in the United States and internationally. The ABF’s primary funding is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of The American Bar Foundation.