The Massachusetts Bar Association presented Massachusetts
Appeals Court Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza with the MBA President's
Award at the New England Bar Association's 41st Annual Meeting
luncheon Oct. 21.
The MBA hosted the event at the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club
in Lenox. Panelists from each of the six New England states
participated in programs, and the conference included the passing
of the gavel from MBA immediate Past President and 2011 NEBA
President Denise Squillante to the Hon. Thomas A. Zonay, NEBA's
2012 president.
MBA President-elect Robert L. Holloway presented the President's
Award, which honors local attorneys' service to the profession and
their community.
"Chief Justice Rapoza is an outstanding jurist well respected in
Massachusetts for his intellect, fairness and history of striving
for ethnic and religious tolerance worldwide," Holloway said. "The
MBA celebrates his contributions to both the legal community and
the state of Massachusetts."
The President's Award is given to individuals who have made a
significant contribution to the work of the MBA, to the
preservation of MBA values, to the success of MBA initiatives and
to the promotion of MBA leadership role within the legal community
in Massachusetts.
Rapoza was appointed to the bench in 1998, and was appointed chief
justice of the Appeals Court in 2006. He is a member of the
Executive Committee of the U.S. Council of Chief Judges of the
State Courts of Appeals and is also a life fellow of the
Massachusetts Bar Foundation.
Prior to being appointed chief justice, Rapoza worked for the
United Nations in East Timor as chief international judge on the
Special Panels for Serious Crimes, a tribunal whose primary purpose
is prosecuting crimes against humanity committed during Timor's
fight for independence.
In 2002, the Portuguese government awarded him the rank of
commander in the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator for his
international work, and in 2007, he received the Municipal Medal of
Merit from the town of Lagoa in the Azores, as well as the
Brazilian Medal of International Merit. In 2009, Rapoza received
the Alexander George Teitz Memorial Award