Prof. Michael P. Seng of The John Marshall Law School will receive the 2006 Elmer Gertz Award on Tuesday, Dec. 12, during a luncheon in The 410 Club of the Wrigley Building, Chicago.

The keynote speech will be given by Cook County Judge Michael Hyman, a past president of the Chicago Bar Association and the Decalogue Society.

Presented annually by the ISBA Human Rights Section, the Blind Services Association and the Gertz family, the award honors unsung heroes of the legal community for commitment to the preservation and advancement of human rights in the spirit of famed Chicago civil rights attorney Elmer Gertz.

Seng is being recognized for individual rights contributions that include establishment of a Fair Housing Legal Clinic at the law school and development of an exchange program on the rule of law for students at Masaryk University Law School in the Czech Republic.

His work in enabling students to get practical experience in the enforcement of fair housing rights earned Seng a Pioneers of Fair Housing Award in 2003 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Czech exchange program, which is supported by the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago, has provided opportunities for many law students to study in Chicago for semesters of visiting courts and networking with local attorneys.

Seng also organizes an annual low-cost travel program for Illinois attorneys to visit legal and governmental institutions in the Czech Republic.

“Professor Seng has dedicated his life to both the rule of law and law students,” said Chicago attorney Joseph F. Vosicky Jr., a past president of the Bohemian Lawyers who nominated him for the Gertz Award.

“He has used his sabbaticals and vacations to teach in Africa, Czech Republic and China. He is always available to his students, without reservation, and finds time to litigate pro bono causes in federal and state courts.”

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School who has been a John Marshall faculty member for almost 30 years, Seng left Jenner & Block early in his career to participate in the civil rights movement in Cairo, Ill. He is a recipient of the Bohemian Lawyers Liberty Award.

For reservations to the Dec. 12 presentation lunch, at $70 per person, call Blind Services at (312) 236-0808.