August 18, 2017 (NEW YORK) – Proskauer partner Betsy Plevan has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The American Lawyer. Betsy receives this award in recognition of her professional accomplishments as an employment litigator and counselor and her public service contributions and their vast impact, within the legal industry and beyond.

After joining Proskauer in 1974, Betsy became the first woman partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department and the first woman to serve on its Executive Committee, a position she held twice. A discrimination law expert, Betsy is a nationally respected trial and appellate lawyer, and was elected to both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

As the first Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Women in the Profession, Betsy launched “Glass Ceilings and Open Doors: Women's Advancement in the Legal Profession” – a study that served as a catalyst for change in the legal profession.

"She started off making the major statistical study of a lack of women in the profession and . . . didn't let go of this issue, to her great credit," partner Michael Cardozo, who first encouraged Betsy to get involved in bar activities, told Am Law.

Betsy also co-chaired the Gender Committee of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.

A longtime leader in the bar, Betsy served as President of the New York City Bar Association from 2004 to 2006, chaired the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and served as President of the Federal Bar Council. She has chaired both the Second Circuit Judicial Conference and the SDNY Magistrate Selection Committee, and serves on Senator Chuck Schumer’s panel to select New York federal court judges.

Am Law’s Lifetime Achievement Awards were created to recognize lawyers for accomplishments in both private practice and public service. Betsy is one of only six lawyers to receive the award this year. She is profiled in the September issue of the magazine and will be recognized at the 12th annual awards dinner in October.