Cates Garners Prestigious Goldberg Award

MADISON - Friday, May 6, 2005 – The Wisconsin Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the State Bar of Wisconsin, recently honored Richard L. Cates, of Lawton & Cates, SC in Madison with the 2004 Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award at the State Bar's annual convention in Milwaukee. The award recognizes his lifetime achievements in the legal profession and his record of service to both the profession and to the public.

Richard L. Cates earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951 with distinction. He is currently a life member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Dane County Bar Association and of the American Trial Lawyers Association. The American College of Trial Lawyers admitted Richard as a Fellow in 1973. His contributions to the legal profession include teaching law school and continuing legal education (CLE) courses for more than 25 years. He taught numerous courses for the University of Wisconsin Law School and McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. He was a lecturer and participant in CLE programs in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, California and Wyoming to bar, judicial, media, medical, and industrial groups.

Governor John Reynolds appointed him special prosecutor for the John Doe hearings in Milwaukee from 1963 through 1967. Governor Warren Knowles appointed him special counsel to the University of Wisconsin following the Commerce Building takeover in 1967. From fall 1979 through summer 1980 he was Acting Interim Wisconsin Public Defender. He was appointed associate special general counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee by Chairman Peter Rodino, and served in that capacity from November 1973 through August 1974, during the impeachment inquiry involving President Richard Nixon.

Richard was again appointed special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in 1986 for the impeachment proceedings involving Judge Harry Claiborne. He served on the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors from 1985-89.

In addition to a long-standing record of service to the legal profession, he has a long record of service ot the public. He served in the US Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War. He was Dane County Deputy District Attorney in 1957-58, a member of the state assembly in 1959-60, a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Visitors from 1963-69 and he served on the Madison Board of education in the 60's.

He regularly works cases with lawyers at Lawton & Cates, SC in Madison. He serves as an advisor and assists with the preparation of witnesses for trial. He also serves as a hearing officer in expulsion cases, brought by the Madison Metropolitan School District. His contributions to the legal profession and the public span more than 60 years.

The award is named after the former State Bar president, Charles L. Goldberg, a leader in launching free legal services to the poor.

The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association, created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license. With more than 21,000 members, the State Bar aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education for its members to help them maintain their expertise, and assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the value of lawyers.

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