James Comey to receive the University of Richmond School of Law's highest honor
April 14, 2008
James B. Comey will receive the University of Richmond School of Law's William Green Award for Professional Excellence April 16 at noon in the university's Jepson Alumni Center. The Green Award is the highest honor given by the law school to honor those who have made a great contribution to the legal profession.
Comey will speak about his work in the public and private sectors. The event is by invitation only.
"I'm honored to present the law school's highest award to Jim Comey," said John Douglass, dean of Richmond Law. "Jim represents all that is best in the legal profession: integrity, objectivity, courage and service for the public good. His career stands as an example for all who value the rule of law."
Comey is senior vice president and general counsel of Lockheed Martin Corp. He formerly served as deputy attorney general of the United States, the second-highest official in the Department of Justice. From 2003-05, Comey supervised the day-to-day operations of the department.
Before going to Washington, Comey was U. S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he oversaw numerous terrorism cases and supervised prosecutions of executives of WorldCom, Adelphia and Imclone on fraud and securities-related charges. He also created a specialized unit devoted to prosecuting international drug cartels.
As deputy attorney general, Comey chaired the president's Corporate Fraud Task Force and the presidential board on safeguarding Americans' civil liberties. From 1996-2000, he served as managing assistant U. S. attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. In that position, he handled the Khobar Towers terrorist bombing case, arising out of the June 1996 attack on a U.S. military facility in Saudi Arabia in which 19 airmen were killed.
Comey also has been a partner at McGuireWoods LLP, specializing in criminal defense and commercial litigation. A former adjunct professor at the law school, Comey received his undergraduate degree from The College of William and Mary and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
The first recipient of the Green Award was Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Other recipients have included Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr., Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr. of the U. S. District Court of Virginia, former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill and Linda Greenhouse, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covered the U. S. Supreme Court for three decades for The New York Times.
The Green Award was established in 1987 and endowed with a gift from Judge Merhige in 1992. The award is named in honor of Judge William Green, one of the original members of the law school's faculty.