International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP is pleased to announced that Vice President Walter F. Mondale has been named a Lifetime Achiever by the editors of The American Lawyer. The Lifetime Achievers award recognizes lawyers who have had exemplary professional careers and, in addition, have made outstanding contributions to the public good. Mr. Mondale is Senior Counsel with Dorsey & Whitney in the Firm’s Minneapolis office.
While Mr. Mondale is best known for his public service as Vice President of the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, U.S. Senator, and Democratic candidate for President, his long career also has been marked by significant and lasting contributions to our legal system. As Attorney General of Minnesota, he organized a group of state attorneys general to file an amicus brief in Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case that secured indigent criminal defendants the right to counsel in state courts.
As a U.S. Senator, Mr. Mondale played an important role in guiding civil rights legislation through Congress. As Vice President, he was instrumental in promoting reform of the government’s intelligence-gathering activities, and in supporting the legality of affirmative action before the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1978 Bakke case.
“Fritz Mondale has had a truly remarkable career in the law and in public service at the highest levels,” said Marianne D. Short, Managing Partner of Dorsey & Whitney. “Throughout his career, he has shown his devotion to ethical leadership, public and private values and straightforward talk and action. Fritz is the kind of lawyer who makes us all proud to be lawyers. We at Dorsey are grateful to call Fritz our colleague and friend.”
The 2011 Lifetime Achievers will be honored at a gala in New York City on October 26, 2011.