Distinguished Alumni Award
Equal Justice Works will also honor one of our very own alumni with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award at the Scales of Justice event in November. Stay tuned for more information on our 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awardee!
The Scales of Justice
2025 Scales of Justice Award
Each year, Equal Justice Works presents the Scales of Justice Award to a leader in the legal community who exemplifies a commitment to public service and a passion for equal justice; has advanced the organization's mission and vision throughout their career; and has set a strong example for what lawyers and legal professionals can and should do to contribute to efforts in the public interest and toward greater access to justice for all.
Rishi Varma
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Cargill
Rishi Varma serves as Cargill’s Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. In this role, he also serves as General Counsel. He oversees corporate governance, global ethics & compliance, global security, government relations, law and shareholder relations. Additionally, Rishi is a member of Cargill’s Executive Team. Rishi is known for being a respected advisor who leads with passion and purpose.
Prior to joining Cargill in January 2024, Rishi served as General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Before joining HPE, Rishi served as general counsel for two different publicly traded companies from 2005 to 2013 – TPC Group, Inc., a petrochemical company, and Trico Marine Services, Inc., a global subsea service provider. Prior to these companies, Rishi served as securities counsel and director of investor relations for EGL, Inc., a publicly traded global freight forwarder, and as a business associate in the New York office of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LP.
In addition, Rishi is committed to advancing the way people live and work by serving on several non-profit boards. Rishi serves on the Board of the Tahirih Justice Center, where he has worked on various matters including visa and asylum cases. He also serves on the board of the Texas Asia Society, the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the West, as well as the Memorial Hermann Hospital System Board, the Equal Justice Works Board of Counselors, and the Georgetown University Law Center Advisory Board.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Rishi and his wife, Michelle, have three children.
Learn more about Rishi’s commitment to public service here.
Past Honorees
- 1990 - Clinton Bamberger
- 1991 - Charles Halpern
- 1992 - Esther Lardent
- 1993 - Peter Edelman
- 1993 - Marian Wright Edelman
- 1994 - Brooksley Born
- 1994 - Clinton Lyons
- 1995 - Kathleen Welch
- 1995 - The Honorable Abner J. Mikva
- 1995 - Antonia Hernández
- 1996 - Alexander D. Forger
- 1996 - Bryan Stevenson
- 1996 - John D. Feerick
- 1997 - Jamie S. Gorelick
- 1997 - The Honorable Paul Igasaki
- 1997 - David Hall
- 1998 - Martha W. Barnett
- 1998 - Jennifer Gordon
- 1998 - Kristin Booth Glen
- 1999 - Hillary Rodham Clinton
- 1999 - Gregory H. Williams
- 2000 - Eldon H. "Took" Crowell
- 2000 - Claudio M. Grossman
- 2001 - Charles F.C. Ruff
- 2001 - Rudolph Hasl
- 2002 - David R. Andrews
- 2002 - Katherine "Shelley" Broderick
- 2003 - Deval L. Patrick
- 2003 - Judith Areen
- 2004 - Thomas A. Gottschalk
- 2004 - Harry Haynsworth
- 2005 - Roderick "Rick" A. Palmore
- 2005 - Gene R. Nichol
- 2006 - Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr.
- 2006 - Katharine T. Bartlett
- 2007 - Brad Smith
- 2007 - Karen Rothenberg
- 2008 - The Honorable Elena Kagan
- 2008 - The Honorable George J. Mitchell
- 2009 - Larry Kramer
- 2009 - D. Bruce Sewell
- 2010 - Teri Plummer McClure
- 2010 - Blake D. Morant
- 2011 - 25th Anniversary
- 2012 - Randal S. Milch
- 2013 - D. Cameron Findlay
- 2014 - Thomas J. Sabatino, Jr.
- 2015 - Brackett B. Denniston III
- 2016 - Kelly McNamara Corley
- 2017 - Kenneth C. Frazier
- 2018 - The Honorable Sven Erik Holmes
- 2019 - David Zapolsky
- 2020 - Laura Stein
- 2021 - Brian Ellis
- 2022 - Teresa Wynn Roseborough
- 2023 - James L. Chosy
- 2024 - Susan H. Alexander