Professor Blasi Receives Legal Aid Foundation’s Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award
Gary Blasi accepts the Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award. Gary Blasi, professor of law emeritus, was honored with the Access to Justice Lifetime Achievement Award by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. He was chosen for the honor for his significant work in increasing access to the legal system and his
long-term commitment to extending legal services to the underrepresented. He was presented with the award in December at the organization’s 15th Annual Access to Justice Dinner. In addition, he was honored by the Eviction Defense Network at the organization’s 10th Year Anniversary Celebration in November, and in October he received the State Bar of California’s Loren Miller Legal Services Award. Professor Blasi joined the UCLA Law faculty in 1991 with a distinguished 20-year record of public interest practice. He is one of the founding faculty members of the law school’s David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. He practices, teaches, conducts research and writes about advocacy on behalf of children in substandard schools, homeless families and individuals, low-income tenants, low-wage workers and victims of discrimination. He has received numerous awards for distinction in the field of public interest law and for providing legal services to the poor. In 2007, he was named one of the top 100 lawyers in California and cited as the “go-to lawyer for community groups in need of advice.”
Professor Abou El Fadl Receives American Muslim Achievement Award Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, Omar and Azmeralda Alfi professor of law, was presented with the 2014 American Muslim Achievement Award (AMAA) by the Islamic Center of Southern California in March. The award honors Muslims who have achieved excellence in their field and made outstanding contributions to KHALED ABOU EL FADL society. Professor Abou El Fadl, who has been a member of the UCLA Law faculty since 1998, is one of the world’s leading authorities on Islamic law and Islam,
52 | UCLA LAW MAGAZINE
and a prominent scholar in the field of human rights. Among his many honors and distinctions, Professor Abou El Fadl was awarded the University of Oslo Human Rights Award and the Leo and Lisl Eitinger Prize in 2007, and he was named a Carnegie Scholar in Islamic Law in 2005. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, and he also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch. In 2013, he was recognized among “The 50 Smartest People of Faith” by TheBestSchools.org, and was previously ranked among “The Power 500 List of the World’s Most Influential Arabs” and “The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims.” Professor Abou El Fadl is the author of 14 books (three forthcoming) and more than 100 articles on various topics in Islam and Islamic law. His new book, Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari‘ah in the Modern Age, is scheduled for publication in October 2014.