Derek A. Webb, Esquire

2023 Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA–Derek A. Webb has been selected to receive the prestigious 2023 American Inns of Court Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service, which honors an American Inn of Court member in practice 10 years or fewer for their excellence in public interest or pro bono activities. Webb, a research scholar at Yale Law School, will receive the award in October at the 2023 American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States.

“During his five years with us at Sidley, Derek demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to pro bono service that makes him a worthy recipient of the award,” writes Jeffrey Green, Esquire, of Sidley Austin LLP, a former colleague who nominated Webb for the award. “Derek amply demonstrated a willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ for his clients.” Carter G. Phillips, Esquire, also of Sidley Austin, added that “I had the honor and privilege to argue before Justice O’Connor more than 50 times before her retirement and I cannot think of a better young lawyer to receive an award named after her than Derek Webb. He consistently exhibits the kind of empathy for his clients and the fierce determination on their behalf that makes him stand out and that warrants special recognition.”

Before heading to Yale, Webb was the dean’s visiting scholar at Georgetown University Law Center. At Sidley Austin, where he was senior managing associate from 2017 to 2022, Webb received the firm’s Vincent F. Prada and Mark Herzog Pro Bono Award annually and received high honors from the Capital Pro Bono Honor Role of the District of Columbia Courts. Prior to entering private practice, Webb was a law clerk to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was also a Supreme Court Fellow in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice, a nonresident senior fellow in constitutional studies at the National Constitution Center, and a fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center.

Webb is an associate member of the Edward Coke Appellate American Inn of Court. In 2012, he won the American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize for Writing for an essay on the original meaning of civility. He serves on the board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a nonprofit that promotes scholarly research on Lincoln.

Webb earned a cum laude undergraduate degree in philosophy from Yale University in 1998. He studied theology at Oxford University, then earned a doctorate in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. He earned a cum laude law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 2012. He is an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement within the Boy Scouts of America.