Goler Teal Butcher was a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, scholar, advocate

Advocate

An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...

, and professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 in the field of international law

International law

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

.

Education

Butcher was educated at:

• University of Pennsylvania
  University of Pennsylvania
  The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
  
  , BA
  Bachelor of Arts
  A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
  
   with Major Honors (1946)
• Howard University
  Howard University
  Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
  
   School of Law, (1957)
• University of Pennsylvania, LLM (1958)

Work

Butcher's long term teaching post was at Howard University School of Law.

Butcher's public work began in 1963 as attorney at the Office of the Legal Advisor, Department of State.

She also served as Assistant Administrator for Africa, Agency for International Development under the Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 Administration, and head of the Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

-Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 Transition Team for the Agency of International Development.

Volunteer positions

Among her volunteer positions, Butcher was:

• board member - Amnesty International
  Amnesty International
  Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
  
  ,
• honorary vice-president - American Society of International Law
  American Society of International Law
  The American Society of International Law is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization, based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1906, and was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950...
  
  ,
• member - Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law,
• member - International Human Rights Law Group
• member - Council on Foreign Relations
  Council on Foreign Relations
  The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
  
  (1992)

Awards

Butcher created the Goler Teal Butcher Award to attract students in international law to Howard University.

The Howard University's Goler Teal Butcher International Moot Court Team http://www.law.howard.edu/248 honours her name.

The American Society of International Law created the Goler T. Butcher Medal in her honour, awarded since 1997 to leading people in international law.