Judge Peter T. Fay

2018 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Eleventh Circuit

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — Judge Peter T. Fay has been selected to receive the prestigious 2018 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Eleventh Circuit. He will be presented with the award by Judge Joel Dubina at the Eleventh Circuit Annual Judicial Conference in May at The Sawgrass Resort in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Fay has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit since 1981 and earlier on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1976 to 1981, taking senior status in 1994. He was recognized as a “legal legend” in 2008 by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society.

He served as a U.S. District Judge from 1970 to 1976. From 1994 to 2006, he was a member of the three-judge panel charged with appointing and supervising the Independent Council. He served in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953, and was in private practice before his appointment to the bench.

Fay is an active Master of the Bench in the American Inn of Court that bears his name in Miami, Florida, and an honorary member of the Vassar B. Carlton American Inn of Court in Melbourne, Florida.

Among his many honors, Fay was rated the best-qualified judge in a Dade County bar poll in 1987. He was named Outstanding Federal Appellate Judge by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and received the Sixth Annual William Hoeveler Award for Ethics, Leadership, and Public Service from the University of Miami School of Law. The Peter T. Fay Jurist-in-Residence Program at the University of Florida College of Law was named in his honor and works to bridge the gap between law school and law practice.

Having earned his undergraduate degree from Rollins College, Fay attended law school at the University of Florida, receiving his J.D. in 1956. He has received honorary L.L.D. degrees from Rollins College, St. Thomas University, and Nova University.


American Inns of Court Professionalism Awards 

The American Inns of Court Professionalism Awards are awarded each year, in participating federal circuits, to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.