Leonard R. Gilman Luncheon
April 23
$65 for non-members/guests and for members:45Congratulations to this year’s Gilman Award winner, John Neal. This year’s luncheon is at the Atheneum at noon. We will be hosting a pre-reception at 11:15 (non-mandatory) for those who can join us then.
John K. Neal is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan, a position he has held since 2011. Since October 2023, John has served as the chief of the Office’s Public Corruption & Civil Rights Unit, where he supervises prosecutions of corruption by public officials and law enforcement officers. From July 2014 through October 2023, John was the Chief of the White Collar Crime Unit, where he oversaw economic crimes prosecutions, including bank fraud, corporate crime, tax offenses, embezzlement, and identity theft. John has tried numerous cases over the years, involving subjects ranging from mortgage fraud to controlled-substance distribution to a matter involving a corrupt dealer in human cadavers. He also oversaw several significant corporate prosecutions, including an investigation into Volkswagen that resulted in the automaker pleading guilty and paying a $2.8 billion criminal fine. Prior to joining the U.S Attorney’s Office, John worked for nine years at the Department of Justice in Washington, where he handled both civil and criminal fraud cases in jurisdictions around the country. John is a graduate of Columbia Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Charles R. Wilson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
FOR LUNCHEON REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE
The Leonard R. Gilman Award is given annually to an outstanding practitioner of criminal law who exemplifies the excellence, professionalism, and commitment to public service of Len Gilman, who was U.S. Attorney at the time of his death in 1985. The selection is made by prior recipients of the award, many of whom served with and knew Len. The Award: In Honor of Leonard Gilman, his friend and colleague Alan Gershel wrote of him: “As the United States Attorney he instilled a level of excellence, professionalism and commitment to public service that exists to his day. While most of the prosecutors now in the office never met Lenny, his presence is felt everyday in numerous, often subtle ways. Whether it be in the recognition that depriving a person of his liberty is an awesome responsibility that requires the utmost care or in the treating of others with respect, his influence is never far. “However, it is his strength of character, personality and integrity that we most remember and honor him for. Lenny was the paradigm of what a prosecutor should be. He balanced aggressive advocacy with compassion. Trumanesque in his language and passion, his guiding principle to many a young prosecutor was to do the right thing. In a time when respect is becoming harder to find, he demanded it from those who worked for him. While he always took his work seriously he never took himself too seriously. A smile and self-deprecating sense of humor could disarm the most strong-willed adversary. “Lenny was a determined and passionate competitor, whether on the ballfield or in the courtroom. His ire would be raised not in the losing but in the failure to try. His character should serve as a beacon, not just for us as lawyers, but as a way of life. “We should look forward each spring to the presentation of this prestigious award as an opportunity to celebrate his life as well as a renewed introspection of our own by asking ourselves whether we have lived up to the ideals of decency, fairness and respect for others that were exemplified so remarkably in the life and character of Len Gilman.” Past Recipients of the Leonard R. Gilman Award:
1985 Joel M. Shere
1986 David F. DuMouchel
1987 Paul D. Borman
1988 Robert M. Morgan
1989 Maura D. Corrigan
1990 Neil H. Fink
1991 Timothy M. Kenney
1992 Alan Gershel
1993 Blondell L. Morey
1994 Miriam Siefer
1995 Thomas W. Cranmer
1996 Michael C. Leibson
1997 Ross G. Parker
1998 Harold Z. Gurewitz
1999 Nancy J. Diehl
2000 Federal Defender’s Office
2001 Robert W. Haviland
2002 Anthony Chambers
2003 Ronald E. Covault
2004 Robert Cares
2005 Kenneth R. Sasse, Eric M. Strauss
2006 Michael J. Hluchaniuk
2007 James C. Thomas
2008 Stephen T. Rabaut
2009 Lynn A. Helland
2010 Douglas R. Mullkoff
2011 Wayne F. Pratt
2012 Margaret Sind Raben
2013 Timothy A. Baughman 2
2014 John R. Minnock
2015 Daniel L. Lemisch
2016 Gerald K. Evelyn
2017 Steve Fishman
2018 Mark Chutkow
2019 Kenneth Mogill
2020 Valerie Newman
2021 Regina R. McCullough
2022 William Swor
2023 Craig A. Weier
2024 Andrew Densemo
2025: John Neal