March 31, 2015
Judge Lawrence M. Lawson, Class of 1972, will receive the New Jersey State Bar Foundation's highest award-The Medal of Honor- in recognition of his exemplary service to the bar association and the citizens of New Jersey.
Lawson, 67, is a retired assignment judge and the first African-American jurist to serve on the bench in Monmouth County. The foundation will present the medal to Lawson at its awards reception on June 10 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick. The Medal of Honor is given each year to candidates who have made exemplary contributions to improving the justice system. After earning his JD at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, Lawson spent 13 years in private practice, serving as municipal prosecutor in Asbury Park. He was also mayor of Neptune Township from 1984 through 1986. Lawson served as Superior Court Judge for the State of New Jersey from 1987 to 2014; as Assignment Judge, Monmouth County Courthouse, from 1993 to 2014, and is currently Of Counsel with McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP. Lawson served as president of the Student Bar Association while at CUA Law. His daughter is also a graduate of the law school, and he has been honored in the past by CUA's Black Law Students Association. Lawson currently serves as a trustee of the Retired Judges Association of New Jersey, a member of the state's Special Committee on Attorney Ethics and Admissions and on Senator Cory Booker's Judicial Appointment Committee. He also serves on several state Supreme Court committees, including the Committee on Minority Concerns, Committee on Evidence, Joint Committee on Criminal Justice and the Standards for Comprehensive Enforcement Committee. He is a member of the United States District Court of New Jersey Panel of Mediators. The New Jersey Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association.