On May 25, the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) of the District of Columbia honored Nancy Duff Campbell '68 as the 2010 WBA Woman Lawyer of the Year. Campbell, who is a founder and co-president of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), was recognized for over 40 years of women’s legal rights advocacy.
After teaching law at Catholic University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center, Campbell helped turn the Women's Rights Project of the Center for Law and Social Policy into the NWLC in 1981. Campbell’s biggest contributions have been to legislation that has benefited the rights of women and families. With Campbell’s organization and leadership, the Coalition on Women and Taxes’ analyses and advocacy led to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which improved the tax treatment of single heads of households, increased the child care tax credit, and removed six million poor families from the tax rolls. The landmark cases in which Campbell has been counsel include: Haffer v. Temple University; Parents Without Partners v. Massinga, which established a legal right to state child support enforcement services without regard to income; and Califano v. Westcott, which established that unemployed women could receive public assistance benefits for their children.
Campbell, who is a fellow of the American Bar Association, has also received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' lifetime achievement award and served on the District of Columbia Bar Board of Governors.
Posted May 25, 2010