Borasky '75 Inducted as Honorary Member of Order of the Coif
Honors Michael R. Borasky '75 expresses his thanks following his induction as an honorary member of the Order of the Coif at the May 12 Awards Ceremony. Photo by Jaime Welch-Donahue
Michael R. Borasky '75 was inducted as an honorary member of the Order of the Coif during William & Mary Law School's Awards Ceremony on May 12 at the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg, Va. In addition to Borasky's induction, the event included the presentation of about 40 awards and special recognitions to 2012 law graduates.
Membership in the Order of the Coif is the highest academic honor a law student can achieve. It is equivalent to membership in Phi Beta Kappa for undergraduates. Coif chapters may elect to honorary membership "those who as lawyers, judges and teachers have attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments." The Law School's Coif chapter inducted its first members beginning with the Class of 1981; law alumni chosen as honorary inductees graduated in earlier classes. William & Mary law faculty who are Coif members select the graduate who will receive this honor.
Borasky, a Pennsylvania native, received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1969, and, according to Dean Davison M. Douglas, was "among the most outstanding graduates of William & Mary Law School in the 1970s." He graduated first in his class, served on the William and Mary Law Review, and was very active in the Law School's student government. After receiving his law degree, he joined the firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he has enjoyed an extraordinary career in the practice of complex civil litigation, particularly commercial litigation, and has handled lawsuits across the United States. He has particularly extensive experience in antitrust law, products liability, toxic tort, and environmental litigation.
In his remarks, Borasky said he was "humbled and honored " to have the faculty choose to honor him with induction. He told the graduates that the Law School had remained very important to him since he graduated. "I hope as you begin your careers," he said, "that you will remember the Law School, and the faculty, and the great education that you have received here."