U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JUDGE EMERITUS A. JAY CRISTOL TO RECEIVE DISTINGUISHED FEDERAL JUDICIAL SERVICE PRO BONO AWARD
The Hon. Judge Emeritus A. Jay Cristol
The Hon. Judge Emeritus A. Jay Cristol, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida serving Miami, is the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Federal Judicial Service Award. The award, which honors outstanding and sustained service to the public especially as it relates to support of pro bono legal services, will be presented by Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz in a Jan. 26 ceremony streamed live by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Throughout his long and distinguished career, Judge Cristol has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to serving his community, his country, and those with whom he engages professionally. Judge Cristol’s military career spans 38 years and two major conflicts in which he served as a Naval Aviator (Korea and Vietnam). Judge Cristol followed this distinguished military career with an equally long and impressive career of legal and judicial service.
Appointed to the federal bench in 1985, Judge Cristol presided over high-profile bankruptcy litigation including the Chapter 11 reorganization cases of General Development Corp., one of the largest bankruptcy reorganization cases in U.S. history, and Pan American Airways, one of the most iconic brands in aviation history.
His legacy of legal service did not retire with him in 2022, and, in fact, it persists in the form of the University of Miami School of Law’s Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic where he works closely with Patricia Redmond teaching pro bono and mentoring law students.
Judge Cristol’s gestures of service, large and small, have made him a beloved leader of the South Florida legal community and a role model for the next generation.
Note: Support of pro bono legal services by members of the bench is an activity that relates to improvement of the administration of justice. Accordingly, a judge may engage in activities intended to encourage attorneys to perform pro bono services, including, but not limited to participating in events to recognize attorneys who do pro bono work, establishing general procedural or scheduling accommodations for pro bono attorneys as feasible, and acting in an advisory capacity to pro bono programs.
This year’s ceremony, which also honors Individual, Circuit, Voluntary Bar, Law Firm, Young Lawyers Division and Distinguished Judicial Service pro bono efforts, takes place at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 3:30 p.m. Watch it live on Facebook, WFSU: Gavel to Gavel and the Florida Channel.
EDITORS: Please note The Florida Bar is not an association and "Association" is not part of our name. Proper reference is "The Florida Bar." Local bar organizations are properly termed "associations."