BALTIMORE, MD (10/07/04)—Benjamin R. Civiletti, chair of Venable LLP and alumnus of the University of Maryland School of Law, is being honored for his leadership in public service and law by the University of Maryland School of Law with the establishment of a scholarship in his name. The law school will host an investiture and reception for the Benjamin R. Civiletti Scholarship on Tuesday, October 12.
The Benjamin R. Civiletti Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship and has been created for students with high academic achievement, financial need, and who seek to emulate persons who, like Mr. Civiletti, have served the public in significant ways.
Mr. Civiletti served as the Attorney General of the United States under former President Jimmy Carter, where he argued before the International Court of Justice on behalf of the American captives in Iran, and before the Supreme Court for the rights of the government to denaturalize Nazi war criminals. He has also served as chair of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
While in private practice, Mr. Civiletti has served as chair or member of task forces under several Maryland governors, spanning an array of issues from funding of public education, drug abuse, funding of the arts, and welfare policy, to a task force on alternatives to incarceration. He was the founding chair of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and is the chair of The Venable Foundation, which is funded by Venable’s partners and which donates over $1 million annually in the Baltimore and Washington communities.
Venable managing partner James L. Shea has been instrumental in working with the University of Maryland School of Law to recognize and honor Civiletti’s contributions by spearheading the fundraising campaign for the scholarship.
"Mr. Civiletti has been a wonderful example of leadership in public service. Many people have been eager to support and honor his work," said Mr. Shea. "Working to establish this scholarship in his name has been an honor and privilege."
Receiving the inaugural Civiletti Scholarship is Maryland resident, Reena K. Shah.
Ms. Shah received her Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental studies from George Washington University and spent three years with the Peace Corps in Nepal promoting environmental awareness, education and community development. She received her master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University and has been the recipient of numerous honors including a Congressional Fellowship and a Presidential Academic Scholarship.
The investiture and reception will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the University of Maryland School of Law’s Westminster Hall. Special guest speakers include the Honorable Griffin B. Bell, former United States Attorney General, Mr. Robert J. Grey Jr., President of the American Bar Association, and the Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes, United States Senator, Maryland.
One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia.