NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans lawyer has become president-elect of the American Bar Association .
The organization says in a news release that Judy Perry Martinez became president-elect Tuesday, at the end of its annual meeting in Chicago.
She was nominated without opposition in February, and will become president next August.
Martinez is affiliated with Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn LLP.
Her online biography says she's among founders of the Pro Bono Project , created in 1986 to help low-income New Orleans-area residents with the civil court system. She has won the Allies for Justice award from the National Gay and Lesbian Law Association, and a state group's award for capital defense advocacy.
She was a 2015 fellow at Harvard's Advance Leadership Initiative, returning to New Orleans to pursue a career in public service.
