2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards Reflect Best of University of Arizona Law Alumni
University of Arizona Law Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are selected by Arizona Law faculty for their distinguished and exemplary careers, contributions to the legal profession, support for public causes and law reform, and commitment to the pursuit of justice.
This year, Arizona Law recognizes Lynne Wood Dusenberry (‘74), Judge Stephen McNamee (‘69) and Professor Andy Silverman (‘69).
Lifetime Achievement Awards Reception
Date: Friday, Nov. 1, 2019
Time: 5:30 - 8 p.m.
Where: James E. Rogers College of Law, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie Lobby
Who may attend: This event and free and open to all alumni, family and students. RSVP is requested.
2019 Honorees
Lynne Wood Dusenberry, Class of 1974
Lynne Wood Dusenberry has combined an outstanding legal career as university counsel with exceptional leadership in public service. While earning her Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 1974, she received a commission in the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. She continued to serve in the United States Naval Reserve until 1997, achieving the rank of Commander.
Returning to Tucson upon completing her active duty assignment, Wood Dusenberry was appointed as the second full-time in-house attorney at the University of Arizona, eventually serving as Interim Vice President and General Counsel, Legal Affairs. During her tenure, the General Counsel’s Office expanded to a team of over a dozen attorneys and specialists and was responsible for guiding the university through the myriad legal issues faced by institutions of higher learning. As university counsel, she ably advised many presidents, provosts, deans, and other administrators on the proper and ethical course of their duties.
In addition to serving at the university, Wood Dusenberry has held leadership positions in local nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping children and families within the community, including Angel Charity for Children, Child and Family Resources, the American Heart Association, Habitat for Humanity Tucson, United Way of Tucson, Pima Council on Aging, the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. She was a charter member of the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and served a term as the organization’s president. She also served on the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.
Wood Dusenberry has also been at the forefront in promoting cultural enrichment and the arts within Arizona, including directorships with Arizona Public Media and the Arizona Theatre Company. She continues to serve the university as a member of the College of Law’s Board of Visitors and the Social and Behavioral Sciences College Advisory Board.
She has received many honors during her career, including being selected as Tucson Woman of the Year in 2017 by the Greater Tucson Leadership Council. Wood Dusenberry approaches all of her activities with humanity, unfailing respect for others, generosity of spirit, and a wicked sense of humor.
Judge Stephen McNamee, Class of 1969
United States District Judge Stephen M. McNamee has had a prolonged and exemplary career as a federal prosecutor, federal district judge, and dedicated mentor for those entering the legal profession. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Arizona, he earned his Juris Doctor in 1969 from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.
Following a brief career in the private sector, he was appointed in 1971 as Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Judge McNamee became Chief Assistant United States Attorney in 1981 and was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he helped develop a model program to assist victims and witnesses of federal crimes and prosecuting violent crimes against Native American children was a priority. He was a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and was honored in 1989 with the Attorney General’s National Crime Victims Award for this work. Judge McNamee was a leader in fostering binational collaboration of federal prosecutors and judges and their Mexican counterparts.
President George H.W. Bush appointed Judge McNamee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 1990. He served as Chief Judge for the District of Arizona from 1999 to 2006, taking senior status in 2007. During his judicial tenure, Judge McNamee served on numerous national, circuit, and district committees, including the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council.
He was awarded the Mark Santana Law-Related Education Award in 2016 from the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education and the Judicial Civic Education Award in 2019 from the American Lawyers Alliance and the American Bar Association for his involvement since 1999 in the Arizona High School Mock Trial Program. Judge McNamee received the James A. Walsh Outstanding Jurist Award in 2006 from the Arizona State Bar, the Judge John M. Roll Award for Distinguished Service to the District of Arizona in 2016 from the U.S. District Court, and the Distinguished Citizen Award in 2009 from the University of Arizona Alumni Association. He was recognized in 2003 as a Distinguished Alumni of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati.
His activity with University of Arizona Law and his particular support of the judicial clerkship program at the College of Law has endured throughout his career. Judge McNamee takes great pride in mentoring students and offers them the benefits of his lifetime of extraordinary public service with genuine warmth and uncommon generosity. As a fitting tribute, the Stephen McNamee Scholarship Endowment for students at the College of Law was established in 2017.
Professor Andy Silverman, Class of 1969
Andrew Silverman is the Joseph M. Livermore Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Since earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1969, Silverman has dedicated himself to public service, especially working to address the unmet needs of immigrants, indigent and homeless people, people with criminal records, and individuals facing capital punishment.
After a brief period as Deputy County Attorney in the Civil Division of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Silverman joined the University of Arizona College of Law faculty and served as Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Programs from 1970 forward. From 1976 to 1978 Silverman also worked as Executive Director of Community Legal Services in Phoenix. He was named the Joseph M. Livermore Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs in 2001 – the first clinical law professor to receive a named professorship at University of Arizona Law. He has taught immigration law to hundreds of law students over the years and has served as a role model in his determination to provide the highest quality legal representation to his clients.
He also served as a Congressional Fellow with Hon. Raul Grijalva in Washington D.C. in 2007.
As director of the Civil Rights Restoration Clinic, he has helped countless people with felony convictions regain their civil rights and set aside their convictions. Silverman has worked on many cases where there has been a viable claim of innocence or a manifest injustice, including securing the release of two Arizona inmates who had served more than four decades in prison.
Silverman’s pro bono and public service activities are legendary, including leadership positions on more than 20 community service and advocacy boards over the years.
Silverman has dedicated his life to extraordinary public service, giving voice to the underserved and voiceless and speaking truth to power. Through his leadership, University of Arizona Law has become a model for clinical education, for public service endeavors, and for programs designed to instill in students an ethic of care and responsibility for those who otherwise would be forgotten.
Established in 1999 in his honor, the Andrew Silverman Community Service Award recognizes outstanding community service by third-year law students. This award is especially meaningful to our students, who have been able to work alongside a remarkable lawyer, teacher, and mentor.