One of the nation’s most highly respected jurists, Dick Debevoise joined the U.S. District Court for New Jersey in 1979 and attained senior status in 1994. He also serves with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which works to “turn thoughtful and sustained attention to some of the greatest public policy and legal challenges facing our cities in a manner that identifies the root causes of social ills and develops realistic and lasting solutions.” He has served as president of the Newark Legal Services Project and chairman of the New Jersey Legal Services Advisory Council. The award that recognizes outstanding pro bono work by New Jersey lawyers is named in his honor. While in private practice in the 1960s, he volunteered with the Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee, representing Civil Rights workers, including those involved with the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. A member of the Williams Class of 1946, he earned his law degree at Columbia University in 1951.