Hodgson Russ Partner Lawrence R. Bailey Receives St. John’s University Heritage Circle Pin Awarded Posthumously to Cora T. Walker

Lawrence R. Bailey, Jr., a partner in Hodgson Russ's Torts, Insurance & Products Liability Practice Group, recently accepted St. John's University's Heritage Circle Pin Award on behalf of his mother, the late Cora T. Walker.  Ms. Walker was one of the first black women to practice law in New York.

The award is presented to alumni who have graduated more than 40 years ago and maintained a close association with the university in a unique and extraordinary way.  Ms. Walker established the Cora T. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund at St. John's and she received several honors from the university, including an honorary PhD in 1992 and a medal of honor in 2000.

Ms. Walker, who passed away in July 2006 at age 84, earned her bachelor's and law degrees from St. John's University and was admitted to the New York bar in 1947.  She ran her own private practice until 1976, when she became senior partner in Walker & Bailey, a firm she founded with her son.  Walker & Bailey's clients included Ford Motor Company and other large corporations, but Ms. Walker always remained dedicated to the people of her Harlem community, maintaining her offices there and continuing to assist them with legal matters. 

Ms. Walker was the first woman president of the Harlem Lawyers Association and helped found the National Bar Association's Corporate Counsel Conference, an annual meeting of African-American attorneys and corporate clients.  She retired in 1999.

Mr. Bailey concentrates his practice in products liability, civil litigation, transportation (including Federal Employers' Liability Act and other railroad matters), personal injury defense, and corporate litigation.  He is president, executive committee member, and former eastern vice-president of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel as well as a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, and Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel.

With more than 230 attorneys practicing in all major areas of law, Hodgson Russ is among the 200 largest law firms headquartered in the United States.  Recently, the firm tripled its roster of New York City-based attorneys to provide an even wider range of services and increased depth in important niche practice areas, including federal, multi-state, New York State, and local tax; bankruptcy and corporate reorganizations; intellectual property; estates and trusts; litigation; commercial real estate; corporate and securities; immigration; employment law and employee benefits; and health law.  Established in 1817, Hodgson Russ is among the oldest law firms in the United States.  Hodgson Russ has two offices in New York, New York, and offices in Albany, Buffalo, and Johnstown, New York; Boca Raton and Palm Beach, Florida; and Toronto, Ontario.
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