McManis Faulkner announces that partners Christine Peek and Elizabeth Pipkin will receive the 2015 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award in the area of civil rights. The award is given annually to California attorneys whose achievements have had a significant impact on the law.
In making the selection, the California Lawyer highlighted Peek’s and Pipkin’s success in the first trial challenging the constitutionality of an individual’s placement on the federal government’s No-Fly List. The client, Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim, is a Malaysian scholar who lived for many years in the U.S. Dr. Ibrahim alleged she was erroneously placed on the “no-fly” list and other U.S. government terrorist watch lists in violation of her due process rights. After eight years of procedural wrangling, including two dismissals of Dr. Ibrahim’s case by the district court and two reversals by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the case proceeded to a week-long bench trial in December 2013. Following the trial, the same judge who had twice dismissed the case ruled in Dr. Ibrahim’s favor. The district court also made a public finding that the government conceded Dr. Ibrahim posed no threat to any aspect of U.S. national security.
For 19 years, California Lawyer magazine has recognized extraordinary achievements by California lawyers through the CLAY Awards. The magazine receives hundreds of nominations and selects only a small group of lawyers whose work exemplifies excellence in the legal profession.
The awards will be presented by California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in March and Peek and Pipkin will be highlighted in the March issue of California Lawyer.
