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    Jefferson B. Fordham Awards

    The ABA Section of State and Local Government Law accepts nominations for the Jefferson B. Fordham Awards in the following categories:

    • Lifetime Achievement
    • Advocacy
    • Law Office Accomplishment
    • Up and Comers

    Submit your nominations to SLG Director, Tamara Edmonds Askew, deadline is March 28, 2025.

    Guidelines for Submission

    Nominations for recipients in each of the four categories must be submitted by March 28, in the following format with all the information requested:

    1. Nominee: Please submit as the cover sheet for the nomination package the full name, addresses and telephone numbers of the nominee.
    2. Employer: The nomination package must include the name of law office’s director or manager for the Government Law Office Award, including size of office and mission of office.
    3. Accomplishment: Provide a detailed summary of the nominee’s or office’s achievements, brief explanation of outstanding or extraordinary public and/or professional services rendered (50 to 100 words).
    4. Service: Please include an explanation of the nominee’s performance and service; information regarding the time frame for the services described; accomplishments or superior contributions over a number of years; outstanding advocacy or legal writing; qualifications as a young lawyer for the Up & Comer’s Award whose past efforts and accomplishments show great promise to continue contributions for future achievement; assessment of the impact of the service for which you are nominating the individual or office (no more than two typed pages).
    5. References: The nomination package must also include names, titles and phone numbers of three other persons (including at least one lawyer or jurist), who are familiar with the nominee’s performance, achievements, etc.
    6. Nominator: To assist the Award Committee’s evaluation, please also include a brief statement about the nominator’s background.

    About the Awards

    The Section of State and Local Government law elected Jefferson B. Fordham as the first Chair in 1949 During his years of outstanding service, the Section became the distinguished national resource for the advancement of state, local, regional and  tribal government law practice.

    Jefferson B. Fordham's Urban Solutions

    His 1949 case book on Local Government Law revolutionized teaching and addressed dynamic legal issues such as planning and finance, housing and blight, transportation and congestion; in short, the entire range of urban problems whose solutions required a larger concept of community. He pioneered the concepts of home rule and the landmark decisions sustaining interdisciplinary studies under Bar sponsorship, and he was a visionary in teaching that the tough problems of local government did not lend themselves to simplistic solutions.

    Awards Established

    In 1998, the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law was inspired to establish the Jefferson B. Fordham Awards to honor the accomplishments of practitioners and institutions active in the varied areas of practice associated with state, local, regional and tribal government law.

    The Award may be presented in the following categories on an annual basis:

    • Lifetime Achievement
      Presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to the practice of state, local, regional and tribal government law by an individual over an entire career, for contributions over a number of years of service.
    • Advocacy
      Presented in recognition of outstanding legal advocacy within the area of state, local, regional and tribal government law, this award celebrates excellence in advocacy, both written and otherwise.
    • Up & Comers
      Presented to a young practitioner (36 or under) as defined by the ABA who, through their efforts and accomplishments, show great promise to continue these contributions for future achievements.
    • Law Office Accomplishment
      Presented in recognition of sustained outstanding performance or a specific extraordinary accomplishment by a state,  local, regional and tribal government law office. Eligible candidates include all such public sector law offices, including departments or units within such offices.

    Award Recipients

    Daniel J. Curtin, Jr. Lifetime Achievement

    • 2024 – Erica Levine Powers, Esq., Albany, NY
    • 2024 - Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL
    • 2023 - Michael Berger, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, Los Angeles, CA
    • 2022 – Edward A. Thomas, Rancho Mirage, CA
    • 2022 – James C. Hanks, Des Moines, IA
    • 2021 – Charles W. Thompson, Jr., Rockville, Md
    • 2020 – Janice C. Griffith, Boston, MA
    • 2019 – Frank Schnidman, Fort Lauderdale, FL
    • 2018 – Adriane J. Dudley, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
    • 2017 – Dwight H. Merriam, Hartford, CT
    • 2016 – Ross Sandler, New York, NY
    • 2015 – Grant F. Langley, Milwaukee, WI
    • 2014 – Edward J. Sullivan, Portland, OR
    • 2014 – Larry C. Ethridge, Louisville, KY
    • 2012 – Stephen H. Pugh, Chicago, IL
    • 2011 – David E. Cardwell, Orlando, FL
    • 2010 – John W. Witt, San Diego, CA
    • 2009 – James Baird, Chicago, IL
    • 2008 – Milton H. Pachter, New York, NY
    • 2007 – Daniel R. Mandelker, St. Louis, MO
    • 2006 – David L. Callies, Honolulu, HI
    • 2005 – R. Theodore Clark, Jr, Chicago, IL
    • 2004 – Carol E. Dinkins, Houston, TX
    • 2003 – Daniel J. Curtin, Jr, Walnut Creek, CA
    • 2002 – Sharon Stanton White, Washington, DC
    • 2001 – Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod, Chicago, IL
    • 2000 – Patrick J. Falvey, Bronxville, NY
    • 1999 – S. Jerome Pratter, St. Louis, MO
    • 1998 – Jefferson Fordham

    Anita P. Miller Advocacy

    • 2024 - Elizabeth M. Yang, WStrong LLC, Reston, VA  
    • 2023 - Professor John Nolon, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, White Plains, NY
    • 2022 – Thomas W. Mitchell, Newton Centre, MA
    • 2021 – Jamila Jefferson-Jones, Kansas City, MO
    • 2020 – Benjamin E. Griffith, Oxford, MS
    • 2019 – C. Elisia Frazier, Pooler, GA
    • 2018 – M. Travis Phelps, San Diego, CA
    • 2017 – Anita P. Miller, Albquerque, NM
    • 2016 – Michael Jenkins
    • 2015 – Z. Scott, Chicago, IL
    • 2014 – Thomas M. Menino, Boston, MA
    • 2013 – Craig R. Bucki, New York, NY
    • 2012 – Stephen J. Acquario, New York, NY
    • 2011 – Charles W. Thompson, Jr, Rockledge, FL
    • 2008 – David Sumner, Harrisburg, PA
    • 2007 – John Echeverria, Washington, DC
    • 2002 – Ann Miller Ravel and Office of the County Counsel, County of Santa Clara, San Jose, CA
    • 2001 – Mayor Dennis W. Archer, Detroit, MI
    • 2000 – Rodney L. Cobb, Atlanta, GA
    • 1999 – Charles S. Rhyne, McLean, VA
    • 1998 – Robert H. Freilich, Los Angeles, CA

    Up & Comers

    • 2023 - Makenna X. Johnson, Alderman Bernstein LLC, Denver, CO
    • 2022 – Anamaria Hazard, Atlanta, GA
    • 2021 – Christopher W. Carlson, Richmond, VA
    • 2020 – Aubrey B. Coleman II, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
    • 2018 – Brian J. Connolly, Denver, CO
    • 2017 – Ashley N. Scott, Atlanta, GA
    • 2016 – Christopher Brown, Mansfield, OH
    • 2015 – Michael T. Kamprath, Tampa, FL
    • 2014 – Jessica Bacher, White Plains, NY
    • 2013 – Sorell E. Negro, Hartford, CT
    • 2012 – Sarah Weber Langlois, Houston, TX
    • 2009 – Amy Lavine, Albany, NY
    • 2007 – Carie A. Torrence, North Las Vegas, NV
    • 2006 – Bryan W. Wenter, Walnut Creek, CA
    • 2005 – Scott N. Houston, Austin, TX
    • 2004 – Keith W. Hirokawa, Fort Worth, TX
    • 2001 – Rosalba I. Arango, Reno, NV
    • 1999 – Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., Richmond, VA
    • 1998 – Patricia Salkin, Albany, NY

    Law Office Accomplishment

    • 2024 - Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Criminal Justice Division
    • 2022 – City of Evanston Law Department, Evanston, IL
    • 2021 – Nevada Office of the Attorney General Policy Research Team, Carson City, NV
    • 2019 – Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, Knoxville, TN 
    • 2017 – Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Alternative Sentencing Worker Program
    • 2011 – Law Office of North Carolina Housing Finance Agency
    • 2010 – The City of Santa Monica City Attorney's Office
    • 2007 – Office of the City Attorney, San Francisco, CA
    • 2005 – International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA)
    • 2004 – City Attorney's Office of Reno, NV
    • 2003 – City of Chicago Department of Law
    • 2002 – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Municipal Securities
    • 2001 – Orange County Legal Department
    • 1999 – University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law
    • 1998 – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
      University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law