Honorary Doctor of Laws

Degree Recipients (1927 - 2021)

1927

Hon. Arthur J. Abbott
Dean, Southwestern Law School

Reynold E. Blight
Instructor and Special Lecturer, Southwestern Law School; Editor, New Age Magazine; Vice President, California State Board of Accountancy


1928

Hon. Jesse W. Curtis
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Hon. Georgia Bullock
Judge, Municipal Court of Los Angeles


1936

David C. Moore
Economist and Financial Analyst


1937

Hon. B. Rey Schauer ‘16
Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court


1938

Byron C. Hanna
Attorney at Law, Fredericks & Hanna


1939

Hon. J.F.T. O'Connor
Judge, United States District Court


1940

Hon. Phil Sheridan Gibson
Chief Justice of California


1969

Miriam Schumacher
President (Retired), Treasurer and Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Ignatius F. Parker
Dean Emeritus, Southwestern Law School


1971

Hon. Evelle J. Younger
Attorney General of California


1974

John W. Luhring '35
Executive Director, Public Affairs for Union Bank; President, Southwestern Law School


1975

John F. Parker
Attorney at Law, Parker and Dally; Former President, Southwestern Law School


1977

Paul W. Wildman '52
President, Southwestern Law School


1978

Maxwell J. Fenmore '32
Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Richard C. Fildew '38
Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court; Trustee, Southwestern Law School


1980

Hon. Thomas Bradley '56
Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Irwin R. Buchalter '33
Attorney at Law, Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger; Trustee, Southwestern Law School


1981

Hon. John Ferraro
President, Los Angeles City Council

Edgar F. Magnin
Rabbi, Wilshire Boulevard Temple


1982

Hon. Arthur J. Goldberg
Former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States

Hon. Gilbert W. Lindsay
Councilman, Ninth District, Los Angeles City Council

William R. Robertson
Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO


1983

Hon. Robert H. Philibosian '67
District Attorney, Los Angeles County

Lee M. Rich
President, Lorimar Productions

Millard H. Ruud
The John S. Redditt Professor, University of Texas School of Law


1984

Harry Groman '33
President and Chairman of the Board, Hargrom Services Corporation; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

E. Gregory Hookstratten '57
Attorney at Law

Hon. John K. Van De Kamp
Attorney General, State of California


1985

Hon. Rose Elizabeth Bird
Chief Justice of California

Joseph Mautner
Senior Vice President and Manager, Security Pacific National Bank (Retired); Trustee, Southwestern Law School


1986

Hon. Malcolm M. Lucas
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

S. Joan Mier 
Attorney at Law; Trustee, Southwestern Law School


1987

Dean C. Boyack '56
Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Stanley Mosk '35
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1988

Hon. Edward A. Panelli
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1989

Hon. George Deukmejian
Governor, State of California


1990

Hon. Armand Arabian
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1991

Hon. Joyce L. Kennard
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1992

George W. Fenimore
Management Consultant, Litton Industries, Inc.; Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Peck/Jones Construction; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Ronald M. George
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1993

Hon. Marvin R. Baxter
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Sanford H. Kadish
The Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of Law Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Richard C. Maxwell
Harry R. Chadwick, Sr. Professor of Law Emeritus, Duke University School of Law


1994

Sheldon A. Gebb
Attorney at Law, Baker & Hostetler LLP; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Daniel E. Lungren
Attorney General, State of California

Gordon D. Schaber
University Counselor and Distinguished Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law - University of the Pacific


1995

Margherite Germo McComb
Friend and Supporter, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Sandra Day O'Connor
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States

James P. White
Consultant on Legal Education to the American Bar Association


1996

Hon. Ming W. Chin
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Margaret M. Morrow
Attorney at Law, Quinn, Kully & Morrow

Hon. Vaino H. Spencer '52
Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District - Division One


1997

John D. Barrett
Vice President, Tax Counsel and Corporate Affairs, Tutor-Saliba Corporation; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Frank J. Waters '32
Attorney at Law

Hon. Kathryn M. Werdegar
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California


1998

Hon. Janice R. Brown
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Hon. Nate Holden
Councilman, Tenth District, Los Angeles City Council

Philip D. Shelton
President and Executive Director, Law School Admission Council


1999

Norman Karlin
Professor of Law Emeritus, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Bill Lockyer
Attorney General, State of California

Paul E. Treusch
Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School


2000

Eli Broad
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AIG SunAmerica Inc.

Max A. Goodman
Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School

Harvey L. Silbert '35
Of Counsel, Loeb & Loeb; Trustee, Southwestern Law School


2001

James B. Cherry
President, Commercial Graphics Corporation (Retired); Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Michael V. Ciresi
Attorney at Law and Chairman of the Executive Board, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP

Hon. Steve Cooley
District Attorney, Los Angeles County


2002

Warner Heineman
Senior Advisor, Mellon 1st Business Bank; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Carlos R. Moreno
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Lawrence A. Sullivan
Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School


2003

Peter S. Gold '52
President and Chairman of the Board, Price Pfister (Retired)

Pauline Weinstein Ledeen '33
Attorney at Law

Hon. Harry Pregerson
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Hon. Gordon H. Smith '79
United States Senator (Oregon)


2004

Hon. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
Supervisor - Second District, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Harold J. Decker ’73
Senior Counsel, Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C.

Frank L. Ellsworth
President, Japan Society; Trustee Emeritus, Southwestern Law School

Hon. Charles Z. Smith
Former Justice, Washington State Supreme Court


2005

Hon. Arleigh Maddox Woods '53
Justice, California Court of Appeal (Retired); Trustee, Southwestern Law School


2006

Karen J. Mathis
President, American Bar Association; Partner, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP

Leigh H. Taylor
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School


2007

Hon. Arthur L. Alarcón
Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit

Beverly Rubens Gordon '54
Legal Educator

Janice Stockl Manis
Director, Administrative Services, Southwestern Law School


2008

Hon. Carol A. Corrigan
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California

Daniel Grunfeld
Deputy Chief of Staff of Policy, Office of the Mayor, Los Angeles County

Doreen Heyer Raney
Associate Dean for Academic Administration, Southwestern Law School


2009

John A. Schulman
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Warner Bros. Inc. (Retired); Trustee, Southwestern Law School


2010

Michael J. Downer '81
Senior Vice President, Secretary, Coordinator of Legal and Compliance, and Member of the Board of Directors, Capital Research and Management Company; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Professor Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow
Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law; A.B. Chettle Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure, Georgetown University Law Center

Hon. Alicemarie H. Stotler
Senior Judge, United States District Court, Central District of California


2011

Hon. Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye
Chief Justice of California

Hon. Matthew K. Fong '85
Former California State Treasurer; President, Strategic Advisory Group; Trustee, Southwestern Law School

Brian J. Panish '84
Partner, Panish Shea & Boyle, LLP


2012

Dennis P.R. Codon '77
Of Counsel, Blank Rome LLP; Trustee and Past Chair, Southwestern Law School, Board of Trustees

Carlos Siderman
President and Chief Executive Officer, Property I.D.; Founder, Fulbright-José Siderman Human Rights Fellowship

Hon. Otis D. Wright, II '80
Judge, United States District Court, Central District of California


2013

Hon. Jackie Lacey
Los Angeles County District Attorney


2014

Bryant G. Garth
Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law; Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School

Jana Waring Greer
President and Chief Executive Officer, Individual and Group Retirement Division, American International Group, Inc.

Hon. Goodwin Liu
Associate Justice, Supreme Court California


2015

Austen L. Parrish
Dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law; Former Interim Dean, Chief Executive Officer, and Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School 


2016

Professor Norman M. Garland
Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School


2017

Thomas H. Hoberman '75 
Partner, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman, LLP


2018

Hon. Paul J. Watford 
United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit


2021

Hon. André Birotte Jr.
Judge, United States District Court, Central District of California 

Hon. Kevin C. Brazile
Judge, Superior Court of Los Angeles County


2022

Michael E. Cahill
Executive Vice President and General Counsel (Retired), Trust Company of the West


2023

Gloria Rachel Bloom Allred
Founding Partner, Allred, Maroko & Goldberg

Susan Westerberg Prager 
Dean Emerita, Southwestern Law School