The Massachusetts Bar Association will pay tribute to the Hon.
Suzanne V. DelVecchio (ret.) and WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens
at the May 1 Excellence in the Law event, co-presented by
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. DelVecchio has been selected
to receive the Daniel F. Toomey Excellence in the Judiciary Award
and Stevens will be honored with the MBA's Excellence in Legal
Journalism Award.
The annual Excellence in the Law event, which will be held at the
Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, also features award presentations in
the following areas: Up & Coming Lawyers, Excellence in Pro
Bono, Paralegal, Marketing and Firm Administration.
DelVecchio, now a senior mediator and arbitrator at Commonwealth
Mediation & Conciliation Inc., is a former Superior Court Chief
Justice. As chief justice, DelVecchio implemented the Superior
Court's Business Litigation Session. Her distinguished career also
includes serving as the regional administrative justice in Plymouth
County, as a staff attorney for the Boston Legal Aid Society and as
corporate counsel for the City of Boston. DelVecchio currently sits
on the MBA's Blue Ribbon Commission on Criminal Justice
Compensation, which examines the impact of low prosecutor and
public defender salaries on the state's criminal justice
system.
A graduate of Wheaton College and Boston College Law School,
DelVecchio has served as an adjunct professor at Boston University
School of Law and received honorary doctor of law degrees from both
Suffolk University School of Law and New England School of Law. In
addition, she is the recipient of the Judicial Merit award from the
Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Distinguished Jurist
Award from both the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers and
the Essex County Bar Association, and the Jurist of the Year Award
from the Justinian Law Society.
"Judge DelVecchio has been a longtime friend of the MBA's and we
are proud to have the opportunity to honor her with the Toomey
award," said MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer
Martin W. Healy. "Both on and off the bench, Judge DelVecchio is
known as a fair and respected leader."
Stevens, the recipient of the Excellence in Journalism Award, is
an award-winning general assignment reporter for WBZ NewsRadio
1030. During his career at WBZ, Stevens received the first ever
Edward R. Murrow National Award for Writing. In 1996, Stevens and
WBZ received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Feature
Reporting on a story entitled "Blue M&M's." Named "Best Radio
Reporter" by Boston Magazine, Stevens also uses a video
camera to report on unique and enterprising stories for RadioVision
on wbz.com.
Prior to joining the station in 1990, Stevens worked at WEEI Radio
in Boston, WENH-TV Channel 11, the public television station in
Durham, New Hampshire, and WOKQ Radio in Dover, New
Hampshire.
Stevens received a bachelor's degree in English from Goshen
College and a master's degree in English from the University of New
Hampshire.
"Carl has a reputation for uncovering compelling stories about the
human spirit and he weaves together pieces that show the plight of
the 'little guy.'" said Sheff. "As an association we work hard to
represent those who are under-represented and improve their access
to justice. Carl has shown through his work that he is, quite
frankly, our kind of guy."
To purchase tickets to the May 1 Excellence in the Law event or to
find out more on the all the events' honorees, visit masslawyersweekly.com/excellence-in-the-law.