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2004 Wiley A. Branton Annual Awards Luncheon

Thirty-six years ago, shortly after several days of civil disturbances following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Louis F. Oberdorfer of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering enlisted John E. Nolan of Steptoe & Johnson to serve as Chair of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. Over a period of weeks, Nolan reached out to other leading lawyers in the area, including John W. Douglas of Covington & Burling, William D. Rogers of Arnold & Porter and Edward Bennett Williams of Williams & Connolly, to join him as directors of this new organization.

Together they formed the nucleus of what has become a strong and ever-growing network which today comprises hundreds of area lawyers and law firms, working to provide high quality pro bono services on a broad range of civil rights and poverty issues in our community.

The Wiley A. Branton Award was first bestowed by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee in 1989. It takes its name from Wiley A. Branton, Sr., an extraordinary man whose life embodied civil rights advocacy of the highest order.

Wiley Branton’s work as a civil rights lawyer practicing in Arkansas in the 1950s, was lonely, dangerous, and heroic. He went on to a distinguished career in government service. He also served as Dean of the Howard Law School and later, while in private practice, as a leader in several highly respected civil rights organizations. He served as Co-Chair of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee in 1987 and 1988.

Wiley Branton was an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him. He personified the legal profession’s ideal of pro bono service that is at the heart of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s mission.

The Wiley Branton Award is annually bestowed upon a member of the legal community whose lifetime efforts on behalf of civil rights advocacy exemplify the deep commitment of Wiley A. Branton, Sr.

This year the Committee honors two individuals with the Wiley Branton Award, both of whom have served with distinction as a Committee Co-Chair and both of whom have in notable ways advanced the cause of civil rights.