Legal Leaders Join BADC in Celebrating Its 150th Anniversary
December 07, 2022
Bridget Bailey Lipscomb accepts the Honorable Annice M. Wagner Pioneer Award.
Bar leaders and legal luminaries gathered at the Capital Hilton on December 3 for an awards gala celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC). Established in 1871, BADC is one of the oldest voluntary bar associations in the country.
Initially race and gender exclusive, today’s BADC is diverse in both its leadership and membership, driven by its mission to promote civility, justice, and collegiality among members of the legal profession in the District.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who made an appearance at the reception preceding the gala, thanked the many government attorneys in attendance for their work and called upon them to continue to ensure that District residents receive world-class service.
“I want to thank all the lawyers [who] worked with us, some on a pro bono basis, some in programs that were funded, to make sure that D.C. residents have a fair shot at living a great life in the city,” she said. “We live in the most dynamic city in the world, right? And we want to attract people to live here, to work here, to have their businesses here, and it takes all of us to do that.”
Among those in attendance were D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Anita M. Josey-Herring and several D.C. Bar leaders, including President Ellen Jakovic, President-Elect Charles Lowery, and former presidents Shirley Higuchi, Patrick McGlone, and Annamaria Steward.
In his address, BADC President Rawle Andrews Jr. said collegiality is a central value of the organization. “If you look to your left and you look to your right, you're not going to be dismissed … you will recognize by clear and convincing evidence that the cornerstone of the [BADC] is and has been collegiality,” Andrews said.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards to a number of individuals for their outstanding contributions to the legal community. The honorees included Brendan V. Sullivan Jr. of Williams & Connolly LLP; U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Elizabeth L. Gunn; Thomas L. Irving of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP; Andrew D. Price of Venable LLP; Bridget Bailey Lipscomb, assistant director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Torts Litigation Section; and Elizabeth Paige White of DiCello Levitt.
Sullivan, a senior partner with more than 50 years of litigation experience, was named Lawyer of the Year. Specializing in all types of complex commercial litigation, Sullivan has represented many high-profile clients with remarkable success.
Judge Gunn, recognized as judicial honoree, is the first woman bankruptcy judge in the District of Columbia. “I know how important it is to provide services to the underprivileged and to provide access to justice and relief to those who need relief from their financial situations,” she said.
Lipscomb, who was honored with the Honorable Annice M. Wagner Pioneer Award, described a career in which she took every opportunity to get involved or to lead. Notably she served as president of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022. As she left the stage, Lipscomb said yes to Andrews’ invitation to serve as project chair of a BADC program to assist law students who are the first in their family to become lawyers.
Irving received the BADC’s IP Section Patent Prosecutor award for his nearly five-decade career in patent law. “I stand here today as proof that if you do a damn job for 47 years, somebody will give you an award,” Irving jokingly said.
Price, IP Section Trademark Prosecutor honoree, thanked family and colleagues for their contributions, providing him opportunities to represent intellectual property giants around the world while also continuing to pursue his passion for music. Price’s work with the nonprofit organization Law Rocks was recently profiled in Washington Lawyer.
White, who received the Young Lawyer of the Year award, was given a warm welcome from the crowd. Before entering private practice, she served as a public defender in New York City and the District, where she successfully argued a series of writs of habeas corpus over the conditions at the D.C. Central Detention Facility. White is also president of the BADC’s Young Lawyer’s Section.
