Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL Receives First-Ever Campbell Award for Her Legal Work for Elderly
Posted on August 27, 2018, by Loretto Community
Congratulations to Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL, who on Aug. 24 was awarded the first-ever John J. Campbell Outstanding Contribution to Elder Law Award for her leadership in Colorado elder law.
The award is named in honor of Campbell, an esteemed elder law attorney who practiced law in Missouri and then Colorado.
Mary Catherine was selected for the award for her substantial contribution to the furtherance of Colorado elder law and the elder law section of the Colorado Bar Association and the education of others.
A dinner was given to honor Mary Catherine Aug. 24 during the Colorado Bar Association Elder Law Section Retreat Aug. 23-25 n Vail, Colo.
Sister Mary Catherine earned her law degree from Denver University in 1984 and immediately began work with Colorado Legal Services. She co-founded the Colorado Center on Law & Policy in 1999. She served as Loretto’s Social Advocate from 1975 to 1981. During that time, she served on the boards of the National Farm Worker Ministry and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
Her work on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised prepared her for the services she provided to the elderly as an attorney. She retired from Disability Law Colorado in December 2016, where she had served as a staff attorney since May 2008. She was Loretto’s president from 2001 to 2006. Sister Mary Catherine’s professional accomplishments include her work for the Colorado Health Care Conversions Project and her service as lead counsel in Miller v. Ibarra, which led to the Miller Trust legislation in Colorado and became part of federal Medicaid law in 1993.
This past July, Mary Catherine was among those elected at Loretto’s delegate Assembly in Shepherdsville, Ky., to serve on Loretto’s Executive Committee (EC). The native St. Louisan will serve a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2019. The EC consists of the Loretto vice president and four other members who serve the Loretto president in an advisory and decision-making capacity.
