Professor Herma Hill Kay and her pioneering work continue to draw nationwide recognition. On February 11, she received her latest honor—the Association of American Law Schools Triennial Award for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and the Law—during a spirited ceremony in the Warren Room.
“If you have a family law casebook, you know about Herma because she’s all over the pages of every single one,” colleague Melissa Murray said at the celebration for Kay, who has spent more than 55 years at Berkeley Law, including eight as dean (1992 to 2000).
A renowned scholar of family law and conflict of laws, Kay co-authored California’s Family Law Act of 1969 and served on the commission that drafted the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act—which became the national standard for no-fault divorce.
She has also mentored countless law professors while promoting women’s advancement in legal education and the legal system.
An advisor for the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law (Third) Conflict of Laws project, Kay recently finished a book about U.S. female law professors in the 20th century—focusing on the 14 who began teaching before she did in 1960.
—Andrew Cohen