Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny received the Kansas Women Attorney’s Association’s prestigious Jennie Mitchell Kellogg Achievement Award at the organization’s annual conference July 17.

Douglas County District Judge Sally Pokorny with her 2015 Jennie Mitchell Kellogg Achievement Award, presented by the Kansas Women's Attorney's Association July 17, 2015.

To be selected for the award, the individual must have “achieved professional excellence,” “opened doors” for female lawyers “that were historically closed to them” and advanced opportunities for women in the legal field, according to a news release.

Current KWAA president Marilyn Harp said in the release that the award, named after the first woman admitted to practice law in Kansas, honors Pokorny for being a “trailblazer.”

“Judge Pokorny is recognized for many ‘firsts’ in her career, serving as a role model and mentor to many Kansas women attorneys,” Harp said.

Past KWAA President Susan Berson said in the release that Pokorny was selected because of “all her good works.”

“If we could, I’m sure our members would award Sally thousands of lifetimes of achievement,” Berson said, “one for each of the lives Sally has touched in KWAA, and in our legal profession.”

A graduate of Washburn University School of Law, Pokorny began her career as a prosecutor in Shawnee County, according to the release. She was later the first woman to be elected as county attorney in Montgomery County, Kansas. She practiced law in Lawrence, as well, before then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appointed her as district judge in 2009. She currently serves on the Kansas Bar Association Board of Governors.