Margaret M. Morrow
Encyclopedia
Margaret Mary Morrow is a United States federal judge
, serving on the United States District Court for the Central District of California
.
She was born in Columbus, Nebraska
(born 1950). She received an A.B.
cum laude from Bryn Mawr College
in 1971. She received a J.D.
cum laude from Harvard Law School
in 1974.
in Los Angeles, California
from 1974 to 1998. She was counsel of record in several precedent-setting cases involving employment law, bad faith, insurance coverage and arbitration.
In these years representing clients in civil law
and criminal law
, she represented a wide range of corporate and business involvements during both trial and appellate matters.
From 1974 to 1987, she practiced with the law firm known as Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodard, Quinn & Rossi.
In 1987, she and others formed the law firm of Quinn, Kully and Morrow, that ultimately merged with the international law firm offices of Arnold & Porter in 1996.
While an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter
, she specialized in Appellate Court
litigation.
In 1988 she served as President
of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
. She was elected President of the State Bar of California
, then served as its first woman President during 1993-94.
on January 7, 1997, to a seat vacated by Richard A. Gadbois, Jr.. She was confirmed by the United States Senate
on February 11, 1998, and received her commission on February 24, 1998.
, and has served on the boards of numerous professional associations, including the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and the Constitutional Rights
Foundation. She is a past officer of the American Bar Association’s
House of Delegates
and Standing Committee
on Legal Aid
and Indigent Defendant
s; and has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Public Counsel, a member of the Board of Councilors of the University of Southern California
Law Center, a member of the advisory board
of the Hariett Buhai Center for Family Law
, and a member of the Board of Directors
of the Inner City
Law
Center. She was a member of the Commission
to Draft an Ethics Code for Los Angeles City Government
and the Public Commission on Los Angeles County Government in 1989-90.
She has received numerous award
s, including the Bernard E. Witkin
Amicus Curiae
Award from the Judicial Council of California
; the Shattuck-Price Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association; the Ernestine Stahlhut Award from the Women Lawyers’ Association of Los Angeles, and the Maynard Toll Award from the Legal Aid
Foundation of Los Angeles.
Currently she is a member of the Bryn Mawr College
Board of Trustees.
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
, serving on the United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
.
She was born in Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in east central Nebraska, United States. Its population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Pre-settlement history:...
(born 1950). She received an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
cum laude from Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in 1971. She received a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
cum laude from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1974.
Legal career
Morrow practiced lawPractice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
from 1974 to 1998. She was counsel of record in several precedent-setting cases involving employment law, bad faith, insurance coverage and arbitration.
In these years representing clients in civil law
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
and criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
, she represented a wide range of corporate and business involvements during both trial and appellate matters.
From 1974 to 1987, she practiced with the law firm known as Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodard, Quinn & Rossi.
In 1987, she and others formed the law firm of Quinn, Kully and Morrow, that ultimately merged with the international law firm offices of Arnold & Porter in 1996.
While an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter
Arnold & Porter
Arnold & Porter LLP is a nine-office international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Arnold & Porter is well known for its trial, corporate, and antitrust work, and for its pro bono commitments and support for liberal causes.-History:...
, she specialized in Appellate Court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
litigation.
In 1988 she served as President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
. She was elected President of the State Bar of California
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, then served as its first woman President during 1993-94.
Judicial career
Morrow was nominated to the Central District of California bench by President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
on January 7, 1997, to a seat vacated by Richard A. Gadbois, Jr.. She was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on February 11, 1998, and received her commission on February 24, 1998.
Significant decisions
- Dr. Sam Chachoua vs. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center http://books.google.com/books?id=e9smPCEn2xIC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=margaret+m+morrow&source=bl&ots=dmC97A73ps&sig=ObRpXAoNyCx2b7tYZIdTzdtgJRM&hl=en&ei=RMkISvHvJKHytAO6y5zlCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=16#PPA169,M1
- Vidal Sasson vs. Procter & Gamble Co http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_11_26/ai_n6207416
- Martin D Fern vs. Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/california/cacdce/2:2007cv05426/394880
- Valueclick Inc vs. Revenue Science Inc. http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/california/cacdce/2:2007cv02052/385691
- United States Department of Justice vs. Reed Slatkin-Daniel W. Jacobs etal. http://www.slatkinfraud.com/index.php
- Marilyn Monroe LLC (MMLLC) and CMG Worldwide Inc. (CMG) vs. Milton H. Greene and Tom Kelley Studios http://www.licensemag.com/licensemag/Brands/Marilyn-Monroe-Case-Sets-Precedent-for-Celeb-Publi/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/506398
Achievements
Margaret M. Morrow is a past President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, also serving among the Barristers Section, past President of the State Bar of CaliforniaState Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, and has served on the boards of numerous professional associations, including the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and the Constitutional Rights
Constitutional right
An inalienable right is a freedom granted by a Nature or the Creator's endowment by birth , and may not be legally denied by that government.-United States:...
Foundation. She is a past officer of the American Bar Association’s
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
House of Delegates
House of Delegates
The House of Delegates is the name given to the lower house of the legislature in three U.S. states – Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.House of Delegates may also refer to:...
and Standing Committee
Standing Committee
In the United States Congress, standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. . Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for...
on Legal Aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
and Indigent Defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s; and has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Public Counsel, a member of the Board of Councilors of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Law Center, a member of the advisory board
Advisory board
An advisory board is a body that advises the board of directors and management of a corporation but does not have authority to vote on corporate matters, nor a legal fiduciary responsibility...
of the Hariett Buhai Center for Family Law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
, and a member of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Inner City
Inner City
Inner City is an American house and techno group, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1987. The group is composed of the record producer and composer Kevin Saunderson and the Chicago, Illinois native Paris Grey...
Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
Center. She was a member of the Commission
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
to Draft an Ethics Code for Los Angeles City Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the Public Commission on Los Angeles County Government in 1989-90.
She has received numerous award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
s, including the Bernard E. Witkin
Bernard E. Witkin
Bernard E. Witkin is the founder of the California law treatise Witkin's.In 1928, Witkin was an unhappy law student at Boalt Hall who thought that the Socratic method used in law school teaching was not an efficient way to learn the law. He seldom went to class and was in danger of flunking out...
Amicus Curiae
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
Award from the Judicial Council of California
Judicial Council of California
The Judicial Council of California is the rule-making arm of the California court system. It was created by an amendment to article VI of the California Constitution in 1926...
; the Shattuck-Price Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association; the Ernestine Stahlhut Award from the Women Lawyers’ Association of Los Angeles, and the Maynard Toll Award from the Legal Aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
Foundation of Los Angeles.
Currently she is a member of the Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
Board of Trustees.
External links
- President of Los Angeles County Bar Association
- First woman president of the The California State Bar Association recognition at Cal Bar 75th Anniversary Ceremonial
- Honored during Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center Rededication Ceremonial
- C-SPAN
- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE
- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE
- CAALA
- CAALA