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