Alexandria, VA (May 7, 2004) – The Honorable William O. Bertelsman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky has been awarded the 2004 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Sixth Circuit. Justice Randy J. Holland of the Delaware Supreme Court, the President of the American Inns of Court, presented the award to Judge Bertelsman on May 7th at the 2004 Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Circuit Professionalism Award is presented to honor a senior practicing judge or lawyer whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession. Candidates are nominated through circuit-wide open nominations and selected by a panel of representatives from both the circuit and the American Inns of Court Foundation.
Judge Bertelsman graduated from Xavier College, summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. He attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law, graduating first in his class in 1961. He served as the associate editor of the Law Review and was selected to the Order of Coif. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and the Salmon P. Chase College of Law.
He was admitted to practice law in Kentucky in 1961 and Ohio in 1962. He was in private practice in Newport, Kentucky until 1979 when he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the federal bench. Judge Bertelsman served as chief judge from 1991 until 1998. Though he assumed senior status on February 1, 2002, Judge Bertelsman has continued to hear cases not only in the Sixth Circuit, but has sat by designation in the Second and Ninth Circuits and several state courts as well. He also continues to serve as an adjunct professor of Federal Jurisdiction at Salmon P. Chase College of Law.
In 1984, Judge Bertelsman co-authored the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure and its supplements in 1992. He has also authored many articles for both state and national publications. He is the recipient of the 1981 Kentucky Bar Association’s Outstanding Judge Award and was named the Outstanding Trial Judge by the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys in 1998.
The American Inns of Court Circuit Professionalism Awards are presented in participating circuits nationwide. The awards are underwritten in part by Thomson – West Group.