The Women’s Law Caucus of The Dickinson Schools of Law of the Pennsylvania State University will honor alumna Catherine A. Christian, Esq. '88 at the 21st Annual Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo Award Reception on Thursday, February 19. 

The celebration will begin at 6 p.m. with remarks and the award presentation. A reception will follow.

The event is free for students, alumni, and friends of the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. To attend, R.S.V.P. by February 12 to alumni@law.psu.edu or call 717-241-3504.

Each year the Women's Law Caucus honors a woman in the legal profession who has had a distinguished career and who, by example, has made the professional success of other women more likely. The Women's Law Caucus established this award in 1993 when it honored Judge Sylvia Rambo '62 as the first recipient, paying tribute to her contributions as a lawyer and jurist and to her interest in promoting the role of women in the law. 

About Catherine A. Christian
As chief of the Elder Abuse Unit for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (New York County), Christian oversees at team of 20 attorneys investigating and prosecuting criminal activity involving elderly victims. 

Originally appointed as assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office in 1988, Christian served in the Trial Division until she entered private practice in 1995 as of counsel to Yi Tuan and Brunstein. She investigated public corruption as an assistant counsel at the New York State Commission of Investigation and was supervising court attorney for the Bronx Criminal Court and principal court attorney to the Hon. Rosalyn Richter.

In 1998, she was re-appointed assistant district attorney and was assigned to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York as senior trial counsel. As a member of the Special Investigations Bureau, she conducted complex investigations of international drug trafficking organizations. She was promoted to director of Legal Staff Training in 2001 and counsel for Special Projects in 2007.

In 2010, the New York state chief judge appointed her to the Chief Judge's Attorney Emeritus Advisory Council. In 2008, the justices of the Appellate Division First Department appointed her to the Committee on Character and Fitness, New York State Appellate Division, First Department.

At age 43, Christian became the youngest person as well as the first black woman to be inducted as president of the New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA), one of the largest metropolitan bar associations in the nation. In the 100-year history of NYCLA, she was the association’s second female president. During her presidency the association established pro bono programs to assist former prisoners with successful re-entry and low-income persons plagued by consumer debt. She is currently chair of the NYCLA’s Judiciary Committee, Nominating Committee, Diversity Award Committee, and Public Service Awards Committee. 

Christian also serves as vice president, 1^st District, for the New York State Bar Association, sits on the association’s executive committee, and is a member of its House of Delegates and Committee on Attorneys in Public Service. From 2004 through 2010, she served on the New York State Bar Association's Nominating Committee.

Christian is a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and is a member of the Criminal Courts Committee and an adjunct member of the Judiciary Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is a member of the New York County District Attorney's Office Brady Committee, and special adviser to the New York County District Attorney's Office Diversity Committee. 

In 2008, Catherine received the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section's Inaugural Liberty Achievement Award. The award honors lawyers and judges who actively promote diversity within the legal community.

In addition to her J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University.​