By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
In his day, Judge Billings Learned Hand was known as one of the finest legal minds in the United States. He was also known for his alternately open-minded, progressive views and his adherence to judicial restraint. The American Jewish Committee named an award for Hand because of these traits, and several heavy hitters compared Hand’s legacy at the AJC’s first Seattle presentation of the award to local attorney Llewelyn Pritchard at a luncheon on Sept. 21.
“Like Llew, [Hand] personified the best in legal life,” said Steven Posner, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. “He believed so deeply in justice, liberty and human rights.”
William Neukom, who worked as Microsoft’s chief counsel for 25 years and also founded the World Justice Project, an organization that uses the rule of law to bring equality to citizens across the world and protect human rights, called Pritchard “the master of the art of exuberant empathy.” Pritchard was crucial in establishing the day-to-day operations of the organization.
“Llew has this sense of simple justice, social justice,” Neukom said, and he made sure that anyone who needed legal representation could get it. “Llew was stalwart and spent literally hundreds of hours in hotels and motel meeting rooms to provide representation for the people.”
Bill Gates, Sr., a longtime colleague and friend who co-chaired the event with Neukom, agreed.
“It is so appropriate that Llew would be chosen as the first percipient of the award of Judge Learned Hand,” said Gates. “Whatever Llew joins up with, he takes seriously and performs conscientiously — with his sense of humor.”
Pritchard, expressed his appreciation for the award by quoting the judge for which it was named.
“Liberty, he said, was not located in American law, constitution and courts, but in the liberty of the people,” Pritchard said. “I cannot define it. I can only tell you my own faith.”