Portland lawyer Ralph Lancaster Jr. has been elected president of the The Supreme Court Historical Society.

The nonprofit society is dedicated to the collection and preservation of the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was founded by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and the current honorary chairman is Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

“The Society’s membership rolls boast many of the nation’s most distinguished members of the bench and the bar, yet not one is more qualified than Ralph Lancaster to succeed to its presidency,” Leon Silverman, chairman of the organization’s board of trustees, said in a prepared statement. “His contributions to the society are perhaps eclipsed only by the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow appellate practitioners and the justices themselves.”

Lancaster practices with Pierce Atwood LLP in Portland, and lives in Falmouth. He has twice been appointed by the Supreme Court to serve as Special Master in cases between states.