The 2026 honoree will be celebrated during a special reception in the spring of 2026. 

The Hon. Regina M. Rodriguez

It is our distinct honor to recognize The Honorable Regina "Gina" Rodriguez as the recipient of the 2026 CWBA Mary Lathrop Trailblazer Award, our highest honor.

Judge Regina "Gina" Rodriguez is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. She joined the court in 2021 after Senate confirmation of 72-28, with all Democrats and 22 Republicans voting in favor of confirmation. She was first nominated to the federal bench by President Obama in 2016, but the nomination was allowed to expire. She was then among the first slate of judicial nominations made by President Biden after his election. She is the first Asian American to serve as a district judge in Colorado.

Judge Rodriguez was born in Gunnison, Colorado, where her parents met while attending Western State Colorado University. She is a 1988 graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, and she practiced as a trial attorney here in her home state of Colorado for over 30 years before joining the bench. She began her practice in a boutique litigation firm, Cooper & Kelley. She then spent 8 years at the US Attorney’s Office in the civil division, where she ultimately became the deputy chief and then chief of the civil division. She was the first Latina and first Asian civil chief. In 2002, she left the USAO for private practice, where she spent 19 years as a partner in several national and international law firms: Faegre & Benson, Hogan Lovells, and WilmerHale. Judge Rodriguez is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

In addition to her trial work, Judge Rodriguez has a long track record of community service and pro-bono work with emphasis on issues involving education and access to the courts. She has received numerous awards including Hispanic National Bar Association, Latina Lawyer of the Year; Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chris Miranda Outstanding Hispanic Lawyer; Colorado Law Distinguished Achievement in Private Practice; Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction; Law Week Colorado Top Woman Lawyers (2011) and Top Litigator (2015); Latino Leaders Magazine, Top Latino Lawyer (Winter 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020); Law Week Colorado, Barrister's Best: People's Choice, Overall Litigator (2019, 2020), Denver Business Journal 2019 Outstanding Women in Business Award; Denver Business Journal, Power Book Awards Finalist (2016), Colorado Diversity Council, Most Powerful and Influential Women (2015).

Please join us in recognizing Judge Rodriguez for her outstanding contributions to the legal profession.