Mary C. Lawton Award for Outstanding Government Service

 The Award

Created in 1989, the Mary C. Lawton Award for Outstanding Government Service honors the memory of Mary Lawton, a distinguished career government lawyer who served on the Council of the Administrative Law Section from 1983-1986, and as Chair of the Section’s Judicial Review Committee from 1986 to 1988.  A graduate of Georgetown Law School where she was first in her class and on the Board of Editors of the Law Journal, Mary began her career in the Office of the Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice.  At DOJ, she rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Assistant Attorney General.  She received numerous awards from the Department of Justice.  After a brief stint as General Counsel of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and service as Administrative Law Officer at the White House, Mary returned to the Justice Department as Counsel for Intelligence Policy.

2024 Award Nomination Instructions

Mary C. Lawton Award Winners & 2024 Instructions

Mary C. Lawton Award for Outstanding Government Service Recipients:

2023
Nina Olson, Executive Director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights

2022
Jeffrey A. Rosen, Former United States Deputy Attorney General

2021
Matthew Lee Wiener, Acting Chairman, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Administrative Conference of the United States

2019
Daniel Cohen, Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, Legislation & Energy Efficiency, U.S. Department of Energy

2018
Carol Ann Siciliano, Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2016
Judith S. Kaleta, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation

2016
David Sullivan, Special Counsel, Office the Massachusetts Senate President

2015
Richard C. Handel, South Carolina Department of Revenue, Multistate Tax Commission

2014
David Pritzker, Deputy General Counsel, Administrative Conference of the United States

2013
Rosemary Hart, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice

2012
Mary Beth Richards, Deputy Executive Director, Federal Trade Commission

2011
Gabriel Taussig, Chief of the Administrative Law Division, New York City Law Department

2010
The Hon. Karen Clopton, Chief Administrative Law Judge, California Public Utilities Commission

2009
The Hon. William E. Fowler Jr., Chief Judge, National Transportation Safety Board

2008
Peggy Mastroianni, Associate Legal Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

2007
The Hon. John Vittone, Chief Administrative Law Judge, U.S. Department of Labor

2006
Lydia Quarles, Commissioner, Mississippi Workers Compensation Commission

2006
John C. Cruden, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice

2005
Morton Rosenberg, American Law Division, Congressional Research Service

2004
Thomas Spahr, Chief Legal Counsel, Child Support Enforcement Division, State of New Mexico

2003
Michael Messitte, Settlement and Compliance Director, Appellate Court Branch, National Labor Relations Board

2002
Alan Schoem, Director, Office of Compliance, Consumer Product Safety Commission

2001
Stanley Pruss, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Consumer Protection Division, State of Michigan

2000
Joan Z. Bernstein, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission

1999
Joyce M. Martin, Executive Director of Environment/Energy, Office of the Governor of Indiana

1998
Catherine O. Muphy, Deputy Regional Solicitor- Region III, U.S. Department of Labor

1997
Neil R. Eisner, Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of Transportation

1996
John H. Ferguson, Assistant General Counsel of the Appellate Court Branch, National Labor Relations Board

1995
Ellen D. Hanson, Deputy General Counsel, Interstate Commerce Commission

1994
Jeffrey S. Lubbers, Research Director, Administrative Conference of the United States

1993
Karl Engeman, Office of Administrative Hearings

1992
William C. Parlar, General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

1991
Daniel M. Armstrong, Chief of the Litigation Division, Federal Communications Commission

1990
Robert A. Shapiro, Deputy Associate Solicitor for Legislation and Legal Counsel, Office of the Solicitor, Department of Labor

1989
Lawrence G. Wallace, Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice