"With the deepest appreciation and respect, the Massachusetts Bar Association extends its gratitude to retiring Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall for her many years of dedicated service and leadership for the Massachusetts judiciary and its legal community. Only ten chief justices have led our SJC in the 100 years since the MBA was founded - the last before that period was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Chief Justice Marshall has shown time and again that she is not merely a member of that outstanding group of jurists, but one of its most gifted trailblazers.
"Chief Justice Marshall has been an inspired leader of our entire judicial system for over ten years. With unflinching courage, she has guided the Massachusetts courts through a crucial period of reform and fiscal challenge.
"She has proven to be an extraordinarily gifted leader with an astonishing intellect and capacity for engaging others to help solve some of the legal system's most difficult problems. Her commitment to access to justice, diversity and mentoring has been simply phenomenal.
"The MBA awarded Justice Marshall the Chief Justice Edward F. Hennessey Award in October 2009. The award has been bestowed only five times, including when it was originally given to SJC Chief Justice Hennessey in 1988."