Appellate Division Justice E. Jeannette Ogden ’83 to receive UB School of Law’s highest honor
Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden ’83, longtime jurist and mentor to generations of UB Law students, will receive the 2025 Edwin F. Jaeckle Award -- the highest honor the University at Buffalo School of Law and the UB Law Alumni Association can bestow. The award is given annually to a person who exemplifies the highest ideals of the law school and its alumni association and who has made significant contributions to the school and the legal profession.
The presentation will take place on Thursday, February 6, 2025, beginning at 6 p.m. Justice Ogden will accept the award during a dinner program at the Statler in downtown Buffalo, located at 107 Delaware Avenue. [Registration to attend is available online]
Justice Ogden’s judicial career has spanned nearly 30 years, beginning with her appointment to Buffalo City Court in 1995. She subsequently served as acting Erie County Court judge and as acting Erie County Family Court judge, giving her the distinction of being the first African-American woman to serve as a family court judge in Western New York. In 2014, she was elected to the New York State Supreme Court bench, and in 2022, she was elevated to the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department.
Event Details
Thursday, February 6, 2025
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Statler Buffalo
107 Delaware Avenue [View Map]
Prior to joining the judiciary, Justice Ogden worked as a trial lawyer for CIGNA Insurance Companies. She was also a former prosecutor with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and a former assistant Erie County Attorney.
“Justice Ogden’s impact extends far beyond the bench,” says Dean S. Todd Brown. “She is deeply committed to serving her community and promoting pathways to the profession. She is an exceptional lawyer and jurist, a dedicated advocate for the law school, and an outstanding example for our students.”
A 1983 graduate of UB School of Law, Justice Ogden has been actively involved with the law school and its students in many ways, including as an adjunct faculty member, a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association, and a loyal participant in the law school’s mentor program for 1L students.
She was the recipient of the UB Law Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for community service in 2010; and the law school’s Students of Color Trailblazer Award in 2001. At the Class of 2022’s Commencement Ceremony, she was presented the Dean’s Medal for her outstanding achievements and her commitment to justice and the rule of law.
Justice Ogden is a faculty member of the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics; a member of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ+ Commission of the New York Courts; and a member of the Hon. Betty Weinberg Ellerin Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts and its Gender Fairness Subcommittee in the 8th Judicial District. She is president-elect of the New York Women Judges Association Inc.; and a member of several local bar associations and community leadership boards. She regularly appears as a speaker for civic and community groups, public schools, and churches and is well known for her allegiance to her motto, “lift as you climb.”