TALLAHASSEE – Leon County Circuit Judge Nina Ashenafi-Richardson will be honored Feb. 7 with the 2019 Distinguished Judicial Service Award.
Ashenafi-Richardson, who serves in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, will be presented the award, which honors outstanding and sustained service to the public especially as it relates to support of pro bono legal services, from Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady at a Feb. 7 ceremony, a Jan. 16 release from The Florida Bar said.
Ashenafi-Richardson is the first Ethiopian-born person to serve as a judge in the United States, the release said. She was also the first African-American elected president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association.
While serving as president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers, the organization provided legal assistance through programs such as Law School for Laymen and Living Will workshops, the release said. The organization also offered legal counseling to battered women and their children and mentorship programs for local students.
Ashenafi-Richardson also helped in a recent collaboration between the Stafford Inn of Court and the Tallahassee Bar Association to help the St. Andrews Bay American Inn of Court commit to more pro bono hours in the wake of Hurricane Michael, the release said.
Ashenafi-Richardson also averages 15 to 25 hours a week in service to various legal or judicial programs, organizations and statewide committees, the release said.
Ashenafi-Richardson is also leader in a diversity symposium, a program that works with high school students in Leon County through the Tallahassee Bar Association.