DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD GERALD W. VANDEWALLE MEDAL
Hon. Daniel M. Traynor, center, accepts his Distinguished Service Award from Tony Weiler, left, and Judge Ted Sandberg, right.
The Distinguished Service Award, created in 1980 by the board of governors, is the most prestigious award given by the association. The award recognizes the efforts of its most outstanding members and honors a member of the profession who has provided outstanding service to the state and legal community over an extended career. The Distinguished Service Award plaque, which hangs outside the courtroom of the North Dakota Supreme Court, is intended to permanently honor recipients. This year’ s award was presented to Hon. Daniel M. Traynor for his service to the bench, bar, and state.
Born and raised in Devils Lake, Traynor earned his undergraduate B. A. from the University of North Dakota and his J. D., with distinction, from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1997. Upon graduation from law school, Traynor served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Prior to his judicial service, he was a shareholder at the Traynor Law Firm in Devils Lake, where he was engaged in an active general litigation practice, with a particular interest in insurance defense, personal injury, business litigation, and Indian law.
Traynor was elected to the American Bar Association( ABA) House of Delegates as state delegate from North Dakota, where he served on the nominating committee and the steering committee. He was also a member of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and served as chair of the Disciplinary Board of the North Dakota Supreme Court. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Traynor assumed judicial office as a United States District Judge for the District of North Dakota on January 13, 2020. He serves as a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services and is a member of the Judicial Education Advisory Board of the Law & Economics Center of the Antonin Scalia Law School. He is on the board of directors of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges and serves on the ABA Commission on the American Jury and the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force. He previously served on the SBAND Board of Governors.
Travis Finck, right, receives the VandeWalle medal from Tony Weiler, left, and Judge Ted Sandberg, center.
The Gerald W. VandeWalle Medal was created by the SBAND Board of Governors in 2017 to recognize individuals for their significant dedication and contributions to the administration of justice or the improvement of the judicial system. The award, which need not be given every year, honors an individual or individuals who bring credit to the State of North Dakota and its judicial system or to the administration of justice in North Dakota or the United States. The recipient need not be an attorney but should be a current or former resident of the State of North Dakota. The president of the association shall consult with the Chief Justice or members of the judicial branch to identify worthy recipients of this award. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the association.
The 2025 recipient of the Gerald W. VandeWalle Medal is Travis Finck, executive director for the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents. He is a lifelong resident of North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota( UND) with degree in political science, summa cum laude, and from the UND School of Law with honors in 2007.
Finck has devoted most of his professional career to helping indigent individuals in legal matters. He has served the public as a front-line public defender, an office supervisor in a public defender office, and in the administration of the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents. Finck has also worked in private practice, focusing on making a difference one client at a time.
He has taught numerous continuing legal education courses for a wide audience in North Dakota and across the country, including lawyers, judges, and social workers. Recently, he served as a panelist at the American Bar Association Summitt on Public Defense held at Northwestern Law in Chicago. He has been involved in criminal legal system reform efforts in North Dakota, including updating the juvenile court act, updating mental competency laws for adults and juveniles, and establishing a presumption of indigence to ensure counsel at all initial appearances.
Finck currently serves on the board of Trinity Lutheran in Jamestown and is a member of the board of directors for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he serves as chair of the public defense committee. He is an active member of the Buffalo City Gun Club and donates time as an assistant coach for the Jamestown High School Club Trap Team. He has served on numerous national workgroups and committees, working to reform the criminal legal system.
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