Sotomayor to visit Albany Law School next month

PHOTOGRAPHER: The New York Times

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

ALBANY – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will visit Albany Law School on April 3 to meet privately with students, spend time with the faculty, and address the law school community, according to a prepared statement from the school.

“This will be an historic day for Albany Law School,” said Alicia Ouellette, Albany Law’s president and dean. “We are honored that our students, faculty, and community have the opportunity to meet Justice Sotomayor.”

Sotomayor will receive the law school’s Kate Stoneman Award, presented annually by the law school to people in the legal profession who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and equal opportunities for women. The inaugural honoree was Chief Judge Judith Kaye in 1994.

The award is named for Kate Stoneman, who in 1898 became the first woman to graduate from Albany Law School. Stoneman was also the first woman to pass the NY bar exam, but her application to become an attorney was denied because of her gender. She campaigned to change the rules and make women eligible for licensure as attorneys; her campaign succeeded, and she then became the first woman admitted to the bar in New York State, according to the school’s statement.

On April 4, Sotomayor will headline the University at Albany’s Speaker Series, discussing her autobiography, “My Beloved World,” which recounts her inspiring journey to the federal bench, the school said. That event is free and open to the UAlbany community.

Sotomayor is the third woman and the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in August 2009.