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Kenneth Standard
Maker interview details
Interview
- January 14, 2014
Profession
- Category:
LawMakers
- Occupation(s):
Lawyer
Birthplace
- Born: September 4, 1936
- Birth Location: New York, New York
Favorites
- Favorite Time of Year: Christmas
- Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii
Biography
Lawyer Kenneth G. Standard is a prominent lawyer and diversity activist. As a child, civil rights activism was an important part of his family life; his elder sister worked for the national office of the NAACP, and from a young age he heard about and met NAACP lawyers like Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston. Standard graduated from Harvard University with his A.B. degree, and went on to receive his LL.B. degree from Harvard School of Law in 1962.
In 1967, Standard was hired as an attorney with the Bristol-Myers pharmaceutical company. In 1968, he was promoted to counsel of the products division; by 1970, he had been promoted again to become the division’s vice president. Standard continued his legal education, receiving his LL.M. degree from New York University’s School of Law in 1971. In 1988, he began working at the Consolidated Edison Company (Con Ed) as the assistant general counsel for labor relations. In 1999, Standard joined the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he served as special counsel. From 2004 to 2005, he served as president of the New York State Bar Association, and focused on increasing diversity within the legal field. In 2004, Standard joined the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green as a member in its National Labor & Employment Practice. During this time, he also developed and chaired the firm’s nationwide diversity committee.
In 2006, the New York State Bar Association created the Kenneth G. Standard Internship program in his honor, which is specifically designed to support law students from a diverse range of backgrounds. In 2011, Standard received the American Bar Association’s Alexander Award for Lifetime Achievement in Pipeline Diversity; and, in 2013, he was elected fellow by the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
Standard and his late wife, Valerie Ann Salmon, have a daughter, Alison, and two sons, Devin and Trevor.
Kenneth Standard was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 14, 2014.
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- Slating of Kenneth Standard's interview
- Kenneth Standard lists his favorites
- Kenneth Standard describes his father's family background
- Kenneth Standard talks about his father's service in the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I
- Kenneth Standard talks about his Bajan heritage
- Kenneth Standard talks briefly about the migration of his paternal aunts from Barbados to Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard describes his father's personality
- Kenneth Standard describes his maternal family background
- Kenneth Standard describes how his parents met
- Kenneth Standard describes his older siblings
- Kenneth Standard describes his childhood home in Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard describes his childhood neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard recalls his earliest childhood memory
- Kenneth Standard recalls an experience from his elementary school years
- Kenneth Standard talks about the onset of the Great Depression
- Kenneth Standard describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard remembers his eldest sister, Muriel
- Kenneth Standard talks about moving to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard talks about the academic influence of his elder sisters
- Kenneth Standard describes spending time with his mother
- Kenneth Standard describes his family's Christmas holiday celebration
- Kenneth Standard remembers his elder sister, Phyllis Johnson
- Kenneth Standard describes his experience as an Eagle Scout and lifeguard
- Kenneth Standard lists his favorite school subjects
- Kenneth Standard talks about being awarded his Eagle Scout badge as an adult
- Kenneth Standard talks about his family's eviction in 1954
- Kenneth Standard describes his experience at P.S. 44 Marcus Garvey elementary school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard describes Boys High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York
- Kenneth Standard talks about applying to the Naval ROTC program and explains how he financed his college education
- Kenneth Standard describes the student body demographic at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1954
- Kenneth Standard describes his suitemates in his freshman dormitory at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Kenneth Standard remembers his first weeks as an undergraduate student at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Kenneth Standard describes his freshman academic year at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Kenneth Standard explains how he financed his undergraduate and law school education
- Kenneth Standard describes his personal development during his undergraduate years at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Kenneth Standard talks briefly about playing squash with the Harvard Club of New York
- Kenneth Standard describes his introduction and marriage to his wife
- Kenneth Standard remembers his wife
- Kenneth Standard explains how he avoided the draft
- Kenneth Standard describes the class size, faculty and curriculum at Harvard Law School in 1958
- Kenneth Standard talks about the black student population at Harvard Law School, pt. 1
- Kenneth Standard talks about the absence of discriminatory attitudes from Harvard Law faculty
- Kenneth Standard describes the academic environment at Harvard Law School
- Kenneth Standard describes the black student population at Harvard Law School, pt. 2
- Kenneth Standard describes his jobs between semesters at Harvard Law School
- Kenneth Standard explains the transition from the LL.B. to the J.D. degree within the legal profession
- Kenneth Standard talks about the birth of his daughter in 1962
- Kenneth Standard describes studying for the bar exam
- Kenneth Standard talks about joining the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an enforcement attorney in 1962
- Kenneth Standard describes his tenure in the New York State Moreland Act Commission legal department
- Kenneth Standard explains how he became a trial attorney for the New York Telephone Company
- Kenneth Standard describes his experience as a trial attorney for the New York Telephone Company, and his introduction to judge George Bundy Smith
- Kenneth Standard describes his final case with the New York Telephone Company in 1967
- Kenneth Standard describes the legal department at the New York Telephone Company, and joining Bristol-Myers as an assistant staff attorney
- Kenneth Standard reflects upon his career prior to joining Bristol-Myers
- Kenneth Standard describes the size and structure of the legal department at Bristol-Myers
- Kenneth Standard talks about the involvement of his children at the Bristol-Myers company
- Kenneth Standard describes his tenure at Bristol-Myers, and his contribution to the organization of the Monarch Crown Corporation
- Kenneth Standard describes the Monarch Crown Corporation
- Kenneth Standard describes employee demographics at the Monarch Crown Corporation
- Kenneth Standard talks about his promotion to division counsel and division vice president at Bristol-Myers
- Kenneth Standard describes the nurturing environment at the Bristol-Myers, pt.1
- Kenneth Standard describes the nurturing environment at Bristol-Myers, pt. 2
- Kenneth Standard describes his proudest accomplishments as an employee at the Bristol-Myers Company
- Kenneth Standard talks about a management overhaul and company reorganization at the Bristol-Myers Company
- Kenneth Standard talks about his termination from the Bristol-Myers Company in 1984
- Kenneth Standard talks about joining the New York City Board of Education as its director of legal services in 1985
- Kenneth Standard describes his tenure at the New York City Board of Education
- Kenneth Standard describes his tenure at Con Edison
- Kenneth Standard talks about resolving an employment discrimination lawsuit filed against Con Edison
- Kenneth Standard talks about joining Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm in 2000
- Kenneth Standard describes his volunteer work with BEEP, the Black Executive Exchange Program
- Kenneth Standard talks about his involvement with the Harvard Club of New York
- Kenneth Standard describes working at the Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm
- Kenneth Standard describes the Harvard Club of New York clubhouse expansion plans, pt. 1
- Kenneth Standard explains how the Harvard Club of New York clubhouse expansion of 2003 was financed
- Kenneth Standard describes the Harvard Club of New York clubhouse expansion plans, pt. 2
- Kenneth Standard talks about settling a lawsuit in opposition of the 2003 Harvard clubhouse expansion
- Kenneth Standard talks about the additions to the Harvard Club of New York clubhouse and its membership procedures
- Kenneth Standard talks about being elected president of the New York State Bar Association
- Kenneth Standard talks about black members of the New York State Bar Association and its first black president, Archibald R. Murray
- Kenneth Standard describes his tenure as president of the New York State Bar Association
- Kenneth Standard remembers an instance of racial profiling against hiim
- Kenneth Standard talks about custodial interrogation and the death of Danroy Henry
- Kenneth Standard talks about joining the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green in 2004
- Kenneth Standard describes his role as general counsel at Epstein, Becker & Green
- Kenneth Standard considers retirement
- Kenneth Standard considers his influence on his children and grandchildren
- Kenneth Standard reflects upon the role his high-quality elementary education played in his success
- Kenneth Standard remembers instances of discrimination in elementary school
- Kenneth Standard describes his hopes and concerns for the African American demographic
- Kenneth Standard talks about contemporary American social justice efforts
- Kenneth Standard critiques the high cost of legal education and suggests reforms to resolve the unmet legal needs of the public
- Kenneth Standard considers the factors that contributed to his success
- Kenneth Standard reflects upon his legacy