Two employees of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts have been honored for their support of the federal courts. Judge Roger L. Gregory (4th Cir.), chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administrative Office, and AO Director James C. Duff recognized Neal Dillard of the AO’s Information Technology Infrastructure Management Division and James Wannamaker of the Bankruptcy Judges Division as recipients of the 2009 Administrative Office Exemplary Service to the Courts Award.

(click to enlarge) Left to right, James Wannamaker, Bankruptcy Judges Division of the Administrative Office, Judge Roger L. Gregory (4th Cir.), chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administrative Office, AO Director James C. Duff, and Neal Dillard, AO Information Technology Infrastructure Management Division.

Dillard has been instrumental over the last decade in developing and deploying the Judiciary’s Data Communications Network, public access network, local area networks and two Internet gateways. As one testimonial noted, “thanks to Neal’s efforts, the Judiciary now owns one of the most secure and flexible remote access solutions in the federal government.”

Wannamaker assisted in the successful implementation of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), among other efforts, developing in a short time period interim rules and forms covering consumer, business, transactional, health care, and other areas implicated by the legislation. These interim rules were so well crafted, they were largely unchanged in the revised final rules.

The Exemplary Service Award was created by the Committee on the Administrative Office to recognize individual AO staff for significant accomplishments that have improved court administration, internal controls, program effectiveness, communications or efficiency in the courts or the AO.