SOUTH BEACH, Fla.--Famed attorney Gloria Allred will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Trial Lawyers (NTL) at the third annual Trial Lawyers Summit in South Beach, Fla.
Reasoning that because "for the past three decades, [Allred] has been a trailblazer and played a pioneering role in combating injustices and winning new rights especially for women and minorities," the National Trial Lawyers decided to make her only the second person in history to receive its Lifetime Achievement Award. The first was Peter Neufeld, for his work with the Innocence Project.
"I am very honored to have been chosen to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Trial Lawyers," Allred said upon learning of her award. "Their members are legal giants whose work I admire and respect."
NTL noted Allred's diverse activities as both a lawyer and as a public figure fighting for justice for society's most vulnerable as reasons for selecting her to receive the award.
"Fearless lawyer, feminist, activist, television and radio commentator, warrior, advocate, and winner - Gloria Allred is all of these things and more," NTL said in a press release about the award. "She has been voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America."
Allred was quick to share credit for her successes with colleagues at her firm.
"My legal life has been devoted to fighting for and winning equal rights and equal protections for women and minorities," she said. "My law firm, Allred, Maroko and Goldberg, and I look forward to continuing our battles for justice for many years to come."
The National Trial Lawyers calls Allred, Maroko & Goldberg "the leading women's rights law firm in the country." In fact, her firm has won precedent-setting cases in the California Supreme Court, California Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals.
According to NTL, in the last decade, Allred and her firm have won more than $250 million in judgments and settlements on behalf of their clients. Previously, Allred also won the National Trial Lawyers President's Volunteer Action Award, which was presented to her at the White House by President Ronald Reagan.
Last year, President Barack Obama said that Allred was one of the best attorneys in the nation, having devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class.
"Gloria Allred's achievements in her legal career are unmatched, and she has been an inspiration to countless women for her steadfast role in standing up for those who need a champion," said National Trial Lawyers executive director, Michelle Swanner.
Allred is a member of the National Trial Lawyers' Executive Committee, and will receive the award on Monday, Jan. 20 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel at the Trial Lawyer magazine awards luncheon featuring keynote speaker Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst for CNN.