I recently received an invitation from American Jewish Committee (AJC) honoring Bellevue resident Llewelyn Pritchard with the coveted AJC Seattle 2011 Judge Learned Hand Award. Having worked with Llew via PONCHO, where he is a past president, and admiring his on-going leadership in the arts and with Planned Parenthood, I called to congratulate him on this accomplishment and to learn more.

He shared that he is extremely honored “by being the first person to receive this award in Seattle,” and how honored he is “because Judge Learned Hand was revered for his forward-thinking on human rights.”

Llew grew up in New York and graduated from Duke University with a law degree, specializing in family law and human rights. He is a partner with the law firm Helsell Fetterman.

Llew also shared that he is honored that this year’s luncheon co-chairs are the “two Bill’s – Bill Gates Sr. Co-Chair of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bill Neukom, Managing General Partner and CEO of the San Francisco Giants.

AJC established the award in 1964 in memory of Judge Hand, Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1925-1951.

Recipients of the award are people who embody what Judge Hand represented: the rights of the individual and the importance of democratic values in an orderly society.

Llew has spent his career providing legal services to disadvantaged groups: refugees, immigrants, transgender, gay, bi-sexual, and lesbian individuals.

The Judge Learned Hand Award is presented to leaders in the legal profession in major cities across the U.S. where AJC has an office.

Llew has been a leader in the King County, Washington State and American Bar Associations for decades. A member of the ABA’s House of Delegates for 25 years, he has also served on the association’s board of governors, and it’s executive committee. Llew has chaired the Advisory Committee on Immigration Law Pro Bono Project, the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, and the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants.

Today, Llew sits on the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative Board and chairs the Special Counselors of the Center for Human Rights. He plays an active role in the World Justice Project which originated at the ABA.

For more information on the Sept. 21 luncheon honoring Pritchard at the Seattle Four Seasons Hotel, contact seattle@ajc.org.