Ben W. Heineman, Jr. ’71, former Senior Vice President for Law and Public Affairs, General Electric
(From left) Anthony Kronman ’75, Dean Designate Heather Gerken, Ben W. Heineman, Jr. ’71, Roberta Romano ’80, Dean Robert Post ’77, Paul Gewirtz ’70, and Robert J. Guiffra, Jr. ’87
In presenting the award, Center Director Roberta Romano ’80 noted that:
“Simeon Baldwin was an innovator in the legal profession - founding the key professional societies for the bar and law schools, and introducing interdisciplinary study into law, at YLS. So it is more than fitting to present the award to Ben, as he has been an innovator in the profession as well, transforming the role of the General Counsel, revolutionizing the provision of legal services to firms, and as a corollary transforming the practice of law, a transformation that is still underway.”
At the presentation of the award, YLS Sterling Professor of Law and former Dean of the Law School, Anthony Kronman ’75 stated:
“In his remarkable career, Ben Heineman has done many very different things and done each of them superbly well. His own life in the law is an inspiration to all who believe that even in this age of specialization, it is possible - indeed, necessary - to develop the habits and cultivate the talents of a generalist, which is what the greatest lawyers have always been. His success in each of his many roles shows that what is essential to any of them is not the particular knowledge required for it but the wisdom, judgment and passion for the common good that lawyers of the very best kind carry with them into every assignment. In this respect, his career resembles that of Simeon Baldwin himself and reminds us that the qualities we honor in Ben by conferring the Baldwin Award on him are timeless. For lawyers of his and Baldwin's kind, a very old-fashioned word seems appropriate. Ben Heineman has lived nobly in the law."