The American Bar Association Judicial Division will honor the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), which will receive its Justice and Rule of Law Award, and retired Utah District Judge David Connors, who will receive the Honorable William D. Missouri Civility Award, for their outstanding contributions to the profession during the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto. Both awards will be presented Aug. 7 at the Fairmont Royal York.
The Justice and Rule of Law Award was established to recognize an individual or organization who has made a positive national impact on the justice system and preserving the rule of law. NAWJ will receive the award for its Emmy Award-winning civic education program to increase public understanding of the judicial system, promote an independent and impartial judiciary and rebuild trust and confidence in the courts.
NAWJ offers a variety of educational resources to raise public awareness about the justice system and the rule of law, including interactive presentations, training, informational handouts, research, videos, and animations. Additionally, the association has worked since 2021 to support judicial independence, both in the U.S. and globally, through its international outreach as well as through its direct support for Afghan women judges whose relocation from Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal was essential to the judges’ and their families’ survival. Through its work, NAWJ has provided peer mentor teams throughout the United States to assist and support the judges and their families, assisting them with improving English language skills, essential services access, and general support as they integrate into their new home in the U.S.
The Honorable William D. Missouri Civility Award is named for Judge Missouri, who worked tirelessly to promote civility and professionalism through the bar, the bench, and the community, across all racial, ethnic, and gender groups, advocating for fairness and respect for all individuals.
Appointed district court judge by Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. in October 2007, Connors began his service as a judge in January 2008, after more than 25 years of nationwide private practice experience as a business lawyer and commercial litigator handling complex civil litigation. He retired as a judge in March 2023.
While a judge, he handled hundreds of mediations, arbitrations, and trials, including Judicial Settlement Conferences (mediations conducted by a judge who is not the assigned judge on a case). In private practice, he was an early advocate of mediation and arbitration as efficient methods for settling high-conflict disputes. In addition to his experience as a mediator, his ADR experience includes acting for more than 30 years as an arbitrator for the Utah State Bar, both before and during his time on the bench. He is now affiliated with the Utah-based law firm Bennett Tueller Johnson & Deere.
While on the Utah trial court bench, Connors served as a member of Utah’s Judicial Council, the governing body of the Utah judiciary. He also served as presiding judge of Utah’s Second District Court, as chair of a statewide guardianship task force known as the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders, as a member of the Long-Range Curriculum Planning Committee for Utah judges, and as a member of the Utah State Bar’s CLE Oversight Committee and its Fee Arbitration Committee. In 2015, he completed a two-year term as president of the Northern Utah Chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Connors also has served as a member of Utah’s Board of District Court Judges and served for more than 10 years as the board’s designated representative to the ABA Judicial Division. He now serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the ABA Judicial Division’s National Conference of State Trial Judges, having recently completed a term as nationwide chair of that group.