Falk to Receive Senior Peck Medal

Wabash College President Gregory Hess announced that Ken Falk, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, is the 2016 recipient of the David W. Peck Senior Medal for Eminence in the Law. 

Falk will visit campus to deliver a lecture – “The Law as a Shield and a Sword – An Advocate’s Perspective” – at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 18, in Baxter Hall room 101, and will receive the Senior Peck Medal thereafter at the 43rd Annual Peck Dinner.

“Ken Falk has modeled legal service at the highest level for decades,” Hess noted. “Mr. Falk provides a great role model for our students about how to think critically and act humanely in a difficult world,” Hess added. 

A Columbia University law graduate, Falk worked at the Legal Services Organization of Indiana from 1977 to 1996, serving those who were unable to pay for the legal services they needed, eventually rising to the position of Director of Litigation. For the last 20 years, Falk has successfully advocated for civil rights and civil liberties at the ACLU of Indiana while maintaining the highest level of lawyerly decorum despite the often divisive nature of those cases.

“In an era of decreasing civility in both litigation and public discourse, Ken Falk’s legendary legal career provides inspiration for those who value honest and even-tempered debate over inflammatory sound bites,” said Tom Fisher ’91, Indiana Solicitor General. “Mr. Falk’s commitment to clients is matched by his professionalism with opposing counsel and the judiciary. Through scholarly and civil advocacy at all levels, Mr. Falk has set high standards of excellence for all lawyers in Indiana.”

Wabash alumnus John Collett ’24 established the Peck Medal to honor his fraternity brother Judge David W. Peck ’22, who practiced law for many years at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City and also served as presiding justice of the courts in Manhattan and the Bronx.   

Senior Peck Medal Recipients