Lauren Stiller Rikleen got the Barbara Gray Humanitarian Award from a Framingham based group that serves victims of domestic violence.  Rikleen, 54, is a partner at Bowditch & Dewey LLP and she had worked with Gray in 1989.

A formidable woman by all accounts, Rikleen was instrumental in founding the Metro West Harvest, an organization that collects leftovers from restaurants and hotels to feed the homeless.  However, besides feeding the homeless, and fighting for victims of domestic violence, she is a dedicated lawyer.

The Boston Bar Association elected Rikleen as president in 1998.  The first non-Boston lawyer to be so elected, she created a task force to study key challenges in balancing work and family.  The report of the study titled “Facing the Grail: Confronting the Cost of Work/Family Imbalance” enjoyed national acclamation.  The report, which can be found at http://www.bostonbar.org/prs/workfamilychallenges.htm, is a must-read.

Last year, Legal Works published “Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law” written by Rikleen.  The book deals with barriers and obstacles faced by women trying to climb the corporate ladder in a law firm.

I hope that we continue to see more of her writing published.