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Albany Law School and the Kate Stoneman Honorary Committee are proud to announce that Barbara Underwood, Solicitor General of the State of New York, will deliver the keynote address at the 25th anniversary of Kate Stoneman Day—an annual celebration of women in the law—on April 30, 2019, at Albany Law School.
As the keynote speaker, Ms. Underwood will receive Albany Law School's prestigious Miriam M. Netter ’72 Stoneman Award, presented in honor of Kate Stoneman, the first woman admitted to practice law in New York State and the first woman to graduate from Albany Law School, Class of 1898.
"I am delighted to be honored by Albany Law School, and particularly to receive the Stoneman Award," Ms. Underwood said. "I hope to honor Kate Stoneman's legacy in my remarks and actions as we continue to seek equality across all career paths and foster empowerment in all workplaces."
"Barbara Underwood paved the way for women to lead the United States Solicitor General's Office and then the New York Attorney General's Office—she is truly a pioneer who embodies the spirit of Kate Stoneman," said Alicia Ouellette, Albany Law School President and Dean. "We are delighted to have her for this year's milestone Stoneman Day."
Ms. Underwood has served as N.Y.'s Solicitor General since 2007, except for the period from May to December of 2018, when she served as the state's 66th Attorney General—the first woman to hold that position. Throughout her career, she has held some of the most important roles in the legal profession.
Register: 25th Anniversary Kate Stoneman DayApril 30, 2019
After finishing first in her class at Georgetown University Law Center, Ms. Underwood served as law clerk to two of the nation's most brilliant legal minds: Chief Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Early in her career, she was a tenured Professor of Law at Yale Law School, an adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School, a visiting Professor at New York University School of Law, and a trial attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. She then commenced an illustrious career as an appellate litigator and executive supervisor in a series of public law offices: she was Chief of Appeals and Counsel to the Brooklyn District Attorney, Senior Executive Assistant for Legal Affairs to the Queens District Attorney, and Chief Assistant and Counsel to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Underwood served as the Acting Solicitor General and Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States—the first female Solicitor General in American history. She has argued 20 cases in the United States Supreme Court. After returning to the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office for several years, she was appointed in 2007 to serve as N.Y.'s Solicitor General and has held that position ever since. (For Barbara Underwood's full bio, visit the Kate Stoneman Day website.)
Additional Stoneman Awards, given annually to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and expanding opportunities for women within the legal profession, will be announced at a later date.
Past Stoneman Award honorees include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Honorable Constance Baker Motley, former New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye—who delivered the inaugural keynote in 1994—and other leaders in the private sector, public service, and academia.
Kate Stoneman Day is free and open to the public.
For more information on Kate Stoneman and Albany Law School's 25th Anniversary Kate Stoneman Day, visit katestoneman.org.
