Hon. Elizabeth Stong of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York has been honored with the 2024 Mayre Rasmussen Award for the Advancement of Women in International Law by the American Bar Association.

This prestigious award recognizes distinguished lawyers who have made significant contributions to advancing the opportunities for women’s inclusion and active participation in the field of international law.

Judge Stong, who has served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge since 2003, was elected to the American Law Institute (ALI) in 1998 and to the ALI Council in 2009. She took emeritus status in May 2024. Stong is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of several legal organizations, including the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the Practicing Law Institute, the New York County Lawyers’ Association and the New York Law Institute.

Judge Stong also holds roles on the Advisory Committee of Columbia University’s Committee on Global Thought and the Advisory Board of P.R.I.M.E. Finance, an international dispute resolution and judicial training organization based in The Hague. Stong regularly serves as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Groups on Arbitration and Conciliation and Insolvency and is an elected member of the European Law Institute. She chairs the ABA Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education and holds leadership positions in the International Insolvency Institute, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and various ABA sections.

Judge Stong’s contributions extend beyond the courtroom. She is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School and has trained judges in more than 30 countries through her work with the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program, and ABA-ROLI. Her efforts have significantly encouraged women to engage in international law, particularly in business law, UNCITRAL and international arbitration fields.

The Mayre Rasmussen Award celebrates Judge Stong’s enduring mentorship and her global impact on the advancement of women in the legal profession.