John M. Rosenberg, Life Fellow, was named the 2026 recipient of the ABA Medal and will be presented with the award at the ABA Annual Conference in August. Rosenberg was the keynote interview at the 68th Annual Fellows Awards Reception and Banquet in Louisville, KY.
The ABA Medal recognizes a lawyer for exceptionally distinguished service to the cause of American jurisprudence. Prior recipients of the award include Fred D. Gray, William H. Neukom, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and multiple Supreme Court justices.
Rosenberg is the executive director emeritus of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD). In 2023, he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Kentucky, in honor of his career helping the people of Kentucky with their legal needs and training UK law students to work in vulnerable communities. He also previously received the ABA Difference Makers Award in 2013 and the Grassroots Advocacy Award in 2015.
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