2026 ABA Spirit of Excellence Award

Nominations are now closed. Thank you for your interest!

About the Award

The ABA Spirit of Excellence Award honors those who have achieved excellence and supported others within their legal careers. Annually, NAPABA submits a nomination to the ABA to celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of a NAPABA member who excels in their professional settings; personifies excellence on the national and international level; and has demonstrated a commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. For additional award details or to view past honorees click here. 

NAPABA is now accepting recommendations for the 2026 ABA Spirit of Excellence Awards. Most recently, NAPABA congratulated Judge Dolly Gee and Judge Benes Aldana, who were honored with this award in February 2024 at the ABA mid-year meeting. Other past NAPABA honorees include Justice Goodwin Liu, John Yang, Donald Tamaki, John Lim, Karen Narasaki, Ivan Fong, Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, Dale Minami and Kay H. Hodge. 

The selection committee is looking for NAPABA members, who meet the following award criteria:

1. Achieved professional excellence in their fields.
2. Served as role models in overcoming hardships or barriers and achieved success and excellence in the legal profession.
3. Influenced racially and ethnically diverse individuals to pursue and/or to succeed in legal careers.
4. Opened Doors, broken down barriers, or otherwise promoted the full and equal participation of racially and ethnically diverse individuals in the legal profession.
5. Worked with or on behalf of racially and ethnically diverse lawyers from racial or ethnic groups other than their own.
6. Made significant contributions in service or work in the community. 

Submit a Recommendation

To submit a nominee recommendation you must use the application form. Submissions are to include the following details: 

1. Nominee contact information; 
   
2. An explanation of why the individual is deserving of the award, which must describe details of how they have met the award criteria outlined above;
3. Nominee resume and/or curriculum vitae;
4. High-resolution digital image of the nominee;
5. Nominee narrative biography;
6. Two letters of support from other individuals or organizations;
7. Optionally, you may include additional supporting information.

Please note, in order to be considered nominees must be a member of both NAPABA and the ABA. For questions, contact Abie Siegel, Membership Manager.