WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice today presented the 1998 John Sherman Award to Milton Handler for his substantial contributions to the understanding of the nation's antitrust laws. Handler is Professor of Law Emeritus at Columbia University and partner of the New York firm of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler.

Handler, 94, was honored at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice, attended by Attorney General Janet Reno, distinguished members of the judiciary, officials of several federal agencies, and members of the antitrust bar.

"Professor Handler is a 'lawyer's lawyer' and an inspiration to us all," said Joel I. Klein, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. "He has been not only a guiding light in the antitrust field, but in numerous other fields as well, including labor law, class actions, trademark law, and consumer protection. Throughout his life, Professor Handler has contributed to the law as an outstanding practitioner, professor, and government servant."

Professor Handler taught antitrust and trade regulations for 45 years at Columbia Law School. He authored the country's first Trade Regulations casebook, and a series of later additions to it. He had significant influence on government antitrust policies, serving in various advisory roles, and he drafted the postwar amendments to the Social Security Act that laid the groundwork for Medicare.

As a founding partner of his firm, he litigated on the frontier of antitrust issues, from mergers to vertical restraints.

Created in 1994, the John Sherman Award is presented by the Department's Antitrust Division to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the protection of American consumers and the preservation of economic liberty.

The award is named for the author of the Sherman Act of 1890, a former Congressman and Senator who also served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1877 to 1881, and as Secretary of State from 1897 to 1898.

The Sherman Act outlaws all contracts, combinations and conspiracies that unreasonably restrain interstate trade, including agreements among competitors to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers. The Act also makes it a crime to monopolize any part of interstate commerce.

The first recipient of the John Sherman Award was U.S. Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum of Ohio. Subsequent recipients have included Professors Phillip Areeda, Thomas Kauper and William Baxter.