Michael Kennedy, bar counsel for the state’s Professional Responsibility Program, has been selected to receive the 2022 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit. The award is presented annually to a lawyer or judge in Connecticut, New York or Vermont whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.
Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will present the award to Kennedy later this fall.
As bar counsel, Kennedy advises attorneys on issues related to legal ethics and Vermont’s Rules of Professional Conduct. He also screens disciplinary complaints and administers the program for resolving complaints via nondisciplinary dispute resolution methods.
“He is greatly admired and respected by judges and lawyers in Vermont for his diplomatic and careful advice to lawyers facing difficult ethical problems,” wrote Geoffrey W Crawford, chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Vermont, who nominated Kennedy for the award. “I know from friends in the bar that he is their first call when questions arise about a lawyer’s duty to his or her client and their professional obligations.”
A former president of the Vermont Bar Association, Kennedy currently chairs the association’s Pro Bono Committee and previously served on its Governance Committee. He is also a member of the Vermont Commission on the Well-Being of the Legal Profession.
Kennedy is a 1989 graduate of the University of Vermont and holds a law degree from the George Washington University Law School.
The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education and mentoring. The organization’s membership includes nearly 30,000 federal, state and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in nearly 370 chapters nationwide.