U.S. District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at the State Bar Association of North Dakota ’s annual meeting in Bismarck on June 12, 2025.
The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor given by the Association. Created in 1980, the award is selected by the Board of Governors and honors a member of the profession who has provided outstanding service to the state and legal community over an extended career. A plaque outside the North Dakota Supreme Court’s courtroom permanently honors award recipients and serves as a remembrance of their dedication and work.
On behalf of the Board of Governors, Judge Ted Sandberg highlighted Judge Traynor’s service to the legal profession at both the state and national level. Judge Traynor previously served on the Board of Governors of the State Bar Association of North Dakota and served as Chair of the Disciplinary Board of the North Dakota Supreme Court. Judge Traynor was elected to the ABA House of Delegates as State Delegate from North Dakota where he serves on the Nominating Committee and Steering Committee. Judge Traynor currently serves as a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services and the Judicial Education Advisory Board of the Law & Economics Center of the Antonin Scalia Law School. He also 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.
Judge Traynor, a native of Devils Lake, was nominated for appointment as a federal district court judge by President Donald Trump, and he was confirmed by the Senate in December 2019. Judge Traynor received his undergraduate B.A. from the University of North Dakota and his Juris Doctor, with distinction, from the University of North Dakota School of Law. After graduation, he served as a law clerk to former Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the North Dakota Supreme Court. Prior to his judicial service, he was shareholder at the Traynor Law Firm in Devils Lake.
