Ford also reported live from Times Square for “ABC 2000,” the 24-hour, live, global Millennium broadcast, which recently won the George Foster Peabody Award for 1999.

Ford joined ABC from NBC News, where he spent the last five years as co-anchor of the Today weekend editions and as chief legal correspondent. In this capacity, he reported judicial stories, and provided legal analysis for Today, Dateline NBC and NBC Nightly News. While at NBC News, he also hosted the public television series, Inside the Law.

Ford began his television career in 1983 when he joined WCBS-TV as the station’s legal commentator. He appeared in a number of Fred Friendly’s award-winning PBS series, including “That Delicate Balance II: The Bill of Rights,” where he served as moderator in 1992. He was an anchor at Court-TV from the network’s inception in 1991 until 1994.

Ford is an attorney. He received his law degree from the Fordham University School of Law in New York City, which was financed by his three appearances as a contestant on Jeopardy. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University where, in addition to excelling academically, he was a three-year starter on the varsity football team.

He had a long and successful legal career before entering television journalism. He served as an assistant prosecutor in the Monmouth County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office. Later in private practice, Ford became a well-known and highly successful trial attorney and was involved in many high-profile cases, among them New Jersey’s first death penalty case and the Wall Street insider trading scandal. In addition to his trial work, Ford has written and lectured extensively on legal issues and serves as an adjunct professor of law at his alma mater.

His television work has been honored with a number of awards, including an Emmy and the National Headliner Award. In 1997, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which is given to former NCAA athletes who have moved on to achievement in other endeavors.

In addition, Ford received the National Father of the Year Award in 1998.