Mary Smith, a member of the Cherokee Nation, will receive the 2012 Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association.

Smith was selected for her efforts to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession. She worked on Indian issues for the White House during the Clinton administration and is the president-elect of the National Native American Bar Association.

“Mary was the highest-ranking Native American in the Clinton White House,” Reginald M. Turner, the chairman of the ABA's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Legal Profession, said in a press release. “During her time in the White House, Mary was the architect for a historic Native American policy initiative, which spanned areas such as health care, economic development, education, the digital divide and criminal justice issues. This initiative resulted in an increase in funding of $1.1 billion for Native American programs across all federal agencies.”

The award will be presented during the 2012 ABA Midyear Meeting, February 4, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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ABA To Honor DOJ Civil Division Lawyer Mary Smith (The Blog of Legal Times 11/3)