Fordham Law Newsroom - Released October 28, 2007
Contact: Jennifer Spencer, 212.636.7604
Email: jspencer@law.fordham.edu

Robert B. Fiske, Jr., a partner and senior member of Davis Polk & Wardwell's litigation department, has been selected to receive this year's Fordham-Stein Prize.

This national honor is bestowed upon one individual each year whose work, according to the prize's charter, "exemplifies outstanding standards of professional conduct, promotes the advancement of justice, and brings credit to the profession by emphasizing in the public mind the contributions of lawyers to our society and to our democratic system of government."

Fiske is perhaps best known for his work as special prosecutor in the Whitewater controversy from January-October 1994. He was also Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 1957-1961; and U.S. Attorney for the same district, 1976-1980. In 1999, he was appointed as chairman of a Judicial Commission on Drugs and the Courts by New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, a former Fordham-Stein Prize recipient.

Fiske joined Davis Polk in 1955 and was made partner in 1964. He currently specializes in professional liability, securities, products liability and white-collar crime cases.

"A lawyer of national prominence, Bob has exhibited a high degree of ethical responsibility in both the private sector and as a public official," said William Michael Treanor, Dean of Fordham Law. "He is a fitting exemplar of the high ideals of the Fordham-Stein Prize—an attorney whose practice has been unwaveringly committed both to excellence and to upholding the integrity of the profession."

Named after prominent Fordham Law alumnus Louis Stein '27, the award renders public recognition to the positive contributions of the legal profession to American society.

"The Stein Center, which sponsors the prize, has become synonymous with the thoughtful discussion of law and ethics in the scholarly community and amongst members of the bar. We are so grateful to the members of the Stein family for their commitment to upholding this important tradition," Treanor said.

Fiske joins a list of incumbents that includes six members of the U.S. Supreme Court and three lawyers who have served as Secretary of State. Recent recipients have included John Feerick '61, professor and former dean of Fordham Law; Hon. Patricia M. Wald, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and Hon. Joseph M. McLaughlin '59, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and former dean of Fordham Law.

Previous Recipients
1976-Henry J. Friendly 1977-Edward H. Levi 1978-Warren E. Burger 1979-Wade H. McCree, Jr. 1980-Archibald Cox 1981-Warren M. Christopher 1982-William H. Webster 1983-Potter Stewart 1984-Edward Weinfeld 1985-Edward Bennett Williams 1986-Shirley M. Hufstedler 1987-Lewis F. Powell, Jr. 1988-Robert M. Morgenthau 1989-Marian Wright Edelman 1990- William Hughes Mulligan 1991- William P. Rogers	1992-Sandra Day O'Connor 1993-Cyrus Vance 1994-Milton Pollack 1995-Lloyd N. Cutler 1996-Gerald Bard Tjoflat I997-Charles Alan Wright I998-George J. Mitchell 1999-William H. Rehnquist 2000-William T. Coleman, Jr. 2001-Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2002-Judith S. Kaye 2003-John D. Feerick 2004-Patricia M. Wald 2005-Griffin B. Bell 2006-Joseph M. Mclaughlin