In recognition of her career-long dedication to mentoring and the advancement of women in the legal profession and beyond, the Philadelphia Bar Association will honor Fox Rothschild partner Marilou E. Watson with its prestigious Sandra Day O’Connor Award.
The award, named for the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, has been conferred annually since 1993 on a woman attorney who has achieved a high degree of professional excellence and has visibly used her position and stature in the community to mentor, promote and advance other women lawyers.“Like all truly great mentors, Marilou Watson is equal parts role model, counselor and friend – all of which she imbues with the care and attention of a seasoned mother of four amazing adults,” said Fox Rothschild Philadelphia Office Managing Partner Lauren P. McKenna. “She is especially deserving of this award because she has left a lasting imprint on the lives of countless individuals and is at the top of her profession.”Two of Watson’s nominators, Fox Rothschild Partners Stephanie Resnick and Abraham Reich, have said that they are “privileged to be Marilou’s partners. She is an extraordinary human being who so deserves this award. She selflessly and generously mentors and inspires future generations of leaders. We are honored to stand with the Philadelphia legal community in recognizing her countless contributions.”Watson is Co-Chair of Fox Rothschild’s Life Sciences Practice Group. A registered pharmacist for more than three decades, she leverages her degrees in law, pharmacy and biology to help major chemical and pharmaceutical industry clients capitalize on and protect their patents and other intellectual property, with a particular emphasis on foreign and domestic patent prosecution.
“We are honored to recognize Marilou Watson’s outstanding track record as an attorney, a mentor, an educator, and colleague with this year’s Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Award,” Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Wesley R. Payne IV said. “She truly embodies the professional excellence and leadership qualities of both Justice O’Connor and the accomplished list of previous recipients of this award.
”Throughout her legal career, Watson has worked in both formal and informal ways to blaze a trail for young people – especially girls and women and people of color – to realize their full potential through education and careers in the sciences and the law.In addition to her work with the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession and its Women of Color Research Committee, Watson has mentored students and young lawyers in a variety of venues – through the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, summer associates at Fox Rothschild, even college students whose parents seek her out. She touches base with each of them regularly, making a particular effort to do so during the pandemic by consulting a list on her phone to make sure no one is missed.Watson has also worked with high school students, most notably through the mentorship program at the Promise Academy at Martin Luther King High School in North Philadelphia, Parkway Center City High School, as well as the Kensington Health Science Academy. As a mentor, she is often inspiring a bright, young student to consider law as a profession or guiding a law student in deciding which jobs to pursue or which area of law to focus on.In 2011, Watson led the creation of an annual “Day in Court” program to give students an up-close look at the legal system in operation. Working with the Montgomery Bar Association’s Diversity Committee, Watson brings students to the county courthouse where they observe live court proceedings and speak afterward with the presiding judge.
Watson has also had a profound impact on the lives of a group of girls in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular South Sudan, and over the years, her influence has touched an ever-increasing number of individuals.
Through her intervention and fundraising, scores of young women have entered paid internship programs that keep them in school. The program had its genesis in Watson’s work with Drexel University and the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders through the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The internship program, which enrolls girls from age 14 to 19, pays the young women a monthly stipend to learn entrepreneurial skills and create products they can sell to generate additional income for their households.
She received her J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law and her B.A. in Biology and B.S. in Pharmacy degrees from Temple University
.Watson, who will receive the coveted award during the Philadelphia Bar Association’s luncheon on December 15, 2022, joins a prestigious list of prior recipients, including Stephanie Resnick, who received the honor in 2010.
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