Edward P. Lazarus to Receive Journalism Award
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(Los Angeles, California) - Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. announced today that Edward P. Lazarus, senior counsel in the firm’s Los Angeles office, has been named as the recipient of the Journalism Excellence Award given by the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Bar Association. Mr. Lazarus is being honored for his continued contribution through insightful legal writing on topics of interest concerning the criminal justice system. He will receive the award at the Criminal Courts Bar Association’s 49th Annual Awards Dinner Dance, Saturday, March 9, at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
The Criminal Courts Bar Association’s Journalism Excellence Award is presented to that writer or writers who most meaningfully address the criminal justice system in Los Angeles and the nation. Recent recipients have included Scott Glover and Matt Lait of The Los Angeles Times for their comprehensive coverage of the LAPD Ramparts scandal, and Warren Olney of KCRW and Public Radio International.
“The Criminal Courts Bar Association’s Journalism Excellence Award was given to Edward Lazarus for his commentaries on the vagaries of death penalty jurisprudence. Eddie’s columns are distinguished by his thoughtful observation and insightful wit. His trenchant analysis of the judicial response to death penalty litigation is illuminating and disturbing. He refuses to take facile judicial pronouncements at face value and consistently demands that the door not be shut on the promise of justice,” said David Evans, immediate past president of the Criminal Courts Bar Association and chair of the 2002 Awards Committee.
“To have my writing recognized by such a distinguished group is a high honor, and I am thrilled to receive this award,” commented Mr. Lazarus.
Mr. Lazarus is a member of Akin Gump’s litigation practice group, and focuses on appellate litigation matters. Prior to entering private practice, he was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California and served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William A. Norris on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Mr. Lazarus is the author of two highly acclaimed books: Black Hills/White Justice: The Sioux Nation Versus the United States, 1775 to the Present and Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court. He is also a bi-monthly columnist for Writ, a webzine published by Findlaw.com. His writing has also appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Lazarus is a frequent lecturer, and has taught federal Indian law at the University of California, Davis, and constitutional law at both the Cardozo School of Law and Loyola Law School. He received his J.D. from Yale University, where he was note editor of the Yale Law Journal. In 1991 Mr. Lazarus was named the first Harry A. Blackmun fellow at the Aspen Institute.
The Criminal Courts Bar Association is the oldest, largest and most prestigious criminal defense organization in Los Angeles. It provides criminal defense lawyers, through seminars and mentoring, an open forum for discussion and debate on issues concerning those accused of crime.
Founded in 1945, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., a leading international law firm, numbers more than 1,050 lawyers with offices in Austin, Brussels, Dallas, Denver, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Riyadh (affiliate), San Antonio and Washington. The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust; banking and financial institutions; capital markets; communications; corporate and securities; employee benefits; energy; entertainment; environment, land use and project development; estate planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property; international; investment management; labor and employment; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; privatization; project finance; public law and policy; real estate and finance; taxation; and technology. For additional information, please visit our Web site at http://www.akingump.com.