INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP is pleased to announce that Kathleen Lucas, a partner in the Environmental Law and Administrative Law groups, has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Antoinette Dakin Leach Award.
The award presentation will take place on Tuesday, October 23, at the Columbia Club, 121 Monument Circle, in Indianapolis at 5:00 p.m.
Lucas received this prestigious award as a result of her contributions to Indiana's legal community over the last 35 years, including crafting groundbreaking legislation regarding universal precautions, infectious waste, and school attendance to protect patients, their caregivers, and the public during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition, she was instrumental in the enactment of Indiana's then-controversial voluntary remediation and brownfield programs for cleaning up contaminated properties and putting them back into productive use.
The Indianapolis Bar's Women and the Law Division established the award in 1990 to honor outstanding women in the legal profession. The Antoinette Dakin Leach Award is presented only when the division deems a worthy candidate exists.
One of the first female lawyers, Antoinette Dakin Leach (1859-1922) gained admittance to the Indiana Bar only after the Indiana Supreme Court overruled a lower court ruling which stated that a woman was "not a citizen in the sense that she could hold office and practice law." She went on to a successful career as an attorney and was a state and national leader in the suffragist movement.
Early in her legal career, Lucas served as a Deputy Attorney General representing numerous state agencies and then as Director of Legal Affairs for the Indiana State Department of Health. She has been in private practice for over twenty years, concentrating in the areas of environmental law, administrative law, and general representation before state and federal agencies. In both her public and private careers, Lucas has participated in extensive recodification of environmental, health, and administrative laws, often volunteering her time to promote fair and open government.
Lucas also serves as trustee for the Evansville Greenway and Remediation Trust, which was awarded the 2011 National Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Stewardship.
Those who nominated Lucas describe her as a respected educator, ambassador, mentor, and friend who adheres to the highest ethical standards.
