Legal Excellence Awards

Each year, the Maryland Bar Foundation offers the Legal Excellence Awards to honor members of the legal community.

These awards will be presented at the Maryland Bar Foundation Open Meeting (Fall 2024).

Nominations are now open!

Nominations are due by October 4, 2024.

Submit a Nomination!

Previous Award Recipients

Advancement of Professional Competence

2024 Hon. Ada. E. Clark-Edwards
2023 Hon. Cathy H. Serrette
2022 Deborah L. Potter, Esq.
2017 James Archibald, Esq.

2016 Hon. William G. Connelly
2015 Hon. Julia B. Weatherly
2014 Leonard R. Stamm

Steven P. Lemmey Award for the Advancement of Public Service Responsibility

2024 Kendra Jolivet, Esq.
2023 Hon. Cheri Simpkins
2022 Posthumously awarded to Bobbie G. Steyer, Esq.
2019 Hon. Thomas G. Ross
2017 Debbie Johnston, Esq. (posthumously)

2016 Scott G. Patterson
2015 Glenn M. Grossman
2014 Steven P. Lemmey

Advancement of the Rights of the Disadvantaged

2024 Jessica Quincosa, Esq.
2023 Annapolis Immigration Justice Network
2022 Maureen L. Van Stone, Esq.
2020 Hon. Nelson W. Rupp, Jr.
2019 Cecilia B. Paizs

2017 Hon. George Lipman
2016 Matthew B. Stubenberg
2015 Raymond E. DiBiagio, Jr.
2014 The Homeless Persons Representation Project

Advancement of Advocacy for Justice

2024 Erek Barron, Esq.
2023 Kathleen M. Hughes, Esq
2022 Susan Erlichman, Esq.
2020 Dean Renée McDonald Hutchins
2019 Susan K. Francis

2017 Laure Ruth, Esq.
2016 Gary C. Norman
2015 Debra L. Gardner
2014 Professor Michael A. Millemann

Advancement of Public Understanding of the Law

2024 Hon. Donine M. Carrington Martin
2023 Hon. Sidney A. Butcher
2019 Erik S. Atas
2017 Irwin Kramer, Esq.

2016 David Pantzer
2015 Kathleen H. Meredith
Hon. Timothy E. Meredith
2014 Hon. Pamila J. Brown

The Legal Excellence Awards remind us and our communities what Maryland lawyers stand for.

Each year, the Maryland Bar Foundation presents the Legal Excellence Awards to honor members of the legal community. These members embody the spirit of the Foundation’s mission: honor, integrity, justice, and knowledge.

To be eligible for the award, nominees must be currently licensed to practice in Maryland, be a dues-paying member of the MSBA, practice predominately in Maryland, be actively be engaged in the practice of law for the past 12 months, and must not be a prior recipient of the award, with the exception of lawyers and laypersons being eligible for the Advancement of Public Understanding of the Law award.