Washington, DC (August 18, 2010) – Stetson Law Professor Ellen S. Podgor was awarded the 30th annual Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ most prestigious honor, Aug. 14 at its 52nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ont. This award is given annually to the one criminal defense lawyer who best exemplifies the goals and values of the Association and the legal profession.

Ellen Podgor is the LeRoy Highbaugh Sr. Research Chair and Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law. Professor Podgor teaches in the areas of white collar crime, criminal law and international criminal law. She has been a member of the NACDL since 1979, and was a member of the board of directors of the NACDL for six years. For more than 30 years, Podgor has served the NACDL in more than a dozen roles. She is currently Co-Chair of The Champion Advisory Board. The Champion is the only national magazine devoted wholly to the interests, needs and concerns of the criminal defense lawyer.

Professor Podgor is an internationally known and respected white collar crime expert and the author of numerous books and more than 50 articles and essays on subjects including computer crime, international criminal law, lawyer’s ethics, criminal discovery, prosecutorial discretion, corporate criminality, and other white collar crime topics. A former deputy prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, she authors the highly-ranked White Collar Crime Prof Blog.

She presently serves on the board of directors of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, is an honorary member of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Podgor is also a past chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Association of American Law Schools.

An invaluable resource and a legal scholar of the first order, Professor Podgor is frequently interviewed by media outlets including National Public Radio, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A. Times, National Law Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Business Week.

Contacts

Jack King, Public Affairs, (202) 872-8600 x288, jack@nacdl.org  

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.