For the past month, we have been posting notices of the awards, prizes, and fellowships announced at this fall's meeting of the American Society for Legal History. There is one more to cover, and it's a special one: the Craig Joyce Medal. About this award:
The Society depends on the volunteer labors of its members. It is fortunate in the number of its members who are willing to join in the business of the Society, which is to foster scholarship and teaching in the broad field of legal history. Each year well over a hundred names appear on this website on the lists of officers, directors, and committee members. Among that number, a few people contribute their time to the Society over many years in ways that are above and beyond the call of duty, even in an organization whose members have a strong sense of duty. The Craig Joyce Medal recognizes those individuals. It is awarded on an occasional basis to acknowledge and honor extraordinary and sustained volunteer service to the Society. The medal was first awarded, fittingly, to Craig Joyce, the Andrews Kurth Professor of Law at the University of Houston, in whose honor the ASLH Board of Directors created the award.
In 2025, there were two medal recipients: Ari Bryen (Vanderbilt University) and Gautham Rao (American University). Both recipients have long records of service to the Society. Most recently, Professor Bryen served a 4-year term as the ASLH's Secretary. Professor Rao has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the ASLH-sponsored Law and History Review since 2017; in 2026, he will help transition the journal to new leadership.
Congratulations to Professor Bryen and Professor Rao - and thank you to both of them for their extraordinary dedication to the Society and the field.
-- Karen Tani
