BOSTON (September 8, 2011) – Goodwin Procter LLP senior counsel Wayne Budd has been named as a recipient of The American Lawyer’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award. Budd joins a select group of attorneys, including Howard Baker, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Lloyd Cutler, Joseph Flom, Judith Kaye, Walter Mondale, Sargent Shriver and Robert Strauss, who have received this distinction, awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate outstanding private sector success and a devotion to public service over the course of their careers. Budd is profiled in the September issue of the publication.
A champion of racial and ethnic diversity in the legal and business communities, Budd has held a series of high-ranking positions in both the public and private sectors, breaking barriers and opening doors for African Americans in the legal industry. He was the first African American to lead a state bar association (Massachusetts) and the first to serve as a U.S. Attorney for a New England state (Massachusetts), where he gained recognition for his efforts in combating drugs, street crime and gang violence. In 1969, Budd co-founded what would become the nation’s largest minority law firm, Budd, Wiley and Richlin.
Prior to joining Goodwin Procter as a partner in 1993, Budd served as Associate Attorney General of the United States in the first Bush Administration, the third-ranking position in the Department of Justice. While at Goodwin, he was appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission by President Clinton and represented the Rhode Island Speaker of the House of Representatives in a proceeding to remove the Chief Justice of the RI Supreme Court who had alleged ties to organized crime. In 1996, Budd joined Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) as group president, and then moved to John Hancock as general counsel and senior executive vice president, where he oversaw all of the company’s legal activities. He rejoined Goodwin in 2004.
"It has been our great fortune that Wayne elected to return to Goodwin in 2004, bringing with him a career replete with success and achievement. In addition to his top-notch law practice and business development efforts, he is a tireless mentor for our young lawyers, as well as our law firm leaders, and is devoted to enhancing the careers of others," said Regina M. Pisa, Chairman and Managing Partner of Goodwin Procter LLP.
In addition to practicing business and commercial litigation at Goodwin, Budd currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, and as a director of the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys, the McKesson Corporation, the American Automobile Association (AAA) of Southern New England, and the national board of AAA (Chairman), as well as the New England Innocence Project. He is also a Trustee of Wheaton College and New England Law/Boston, a past president of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, and a graduate of Boston College (A.B.) and Wayne State University (J.D.).
The American Lawyer, the nation's leading monthly magazine for lawyers, covers the business of the most successful law firms across the U.S. and around the world. For more information on this year’s Lifetime Achievers, visit www.americanlawyer.com.
About Goodwin Procter
Goodwin Procter LLP is one of the nation’s leading law firms, with offices in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm provides corporate law and litigation services, with a focus on matters involving real estate, REITs and real estate capital markets; private equity; technology companies; financial services; intellectual property; products liability and mass torts; and securities litigation and white collar defense. For additional information, visit . Follow us on Twitter @GoodwinProcter.