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McLawhorn Receives Administrative Law Award

Dan McLawhorn is the fourth recipient of the NCBA Administrative Law Section’s Administrative Law Award for Excellence.

McLawhorn serves as Senior Associate Attorney for the City of Raleigh, where he has served since 2003. He served as Special Deputy Attorney General in the N.C. Attorney General’s Office from 1980-2003 and as General Counsel for the N.C. Department of Environment & Natural Resources from 1998-2001.

“I was surprised and gratified for the acknowledgment from my peers in the Administrative Law Section,” said McLawhorn, a founding member of the section. “I was much more active in the practice area while I was with the Attorney General’s Office, so the recognition 17 years after that time was very gratifying.”

McLawhorn served on the NCBA Board of Governors and the NCBF Board of Directors from 2008-11. He is a past chair of the Administrative Law Section, and has also chaired the Government and Public Sector Section and the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law (1974) and Davidson College (1970).

Reflecting on his involvement with the Administrative Law Section, McLawhorn discussed how the section’s growth paralleled the growth of the administrative law practice area.

“When a group of us explored the creation of the section,” McLawhorn said, “one of our goals was to enhance and strengthen respect among its members even while we advocated vigorously for our clients. We had the common goal of making Administrative Law a vibrant area of practice and exploring the boundaries of the practice area in light of the limitations in the state constitution.

“We worked diligently to improve the Administrative Procedure Act so that the Office of Administrative Hearings would be a more effective venue for advocacy. We also recognized the potential that it might overtake ligation in the courts as the primary forum for trials, rather than resolution without a trial. I think that strong foundation has continued to serve the section and its members well.”

McLawhorn counts himself among those whose careers have been enhanced by the work of the Administrative Law Section.

“I still recall one of early CLEs,” McLawhorn said. “It came on heels of the Supreme Court decision involving access to the investigation by the Poole Commission at NCSU. That case opened up the breadth of the Public Records Act and changed several key protections against release of records that public agency attorneys were using. We put together a strong CLE aimed at the attorneys who represent agencies subject to the Act. The CLE was entitled ‘Litigating in a Fish Bowl.’

“In the City Attorney’s Office, I was again confronted with a similar question for the protection of trial preparation materials for public agency attorneys. Sen. Clodfelter led the legislative effort to restore that protection after a decision involving the Raleigh City Attorney’s Office. It was a pleasure working with him, Leslie Winner, and Bob Hagemann to bring the change to the APA.”

The Administrative Law Award for Excellence is designed to honor an attorney who:

  • has practiced administrative or regulatory law for at least ten years and who has continuous experience in this practice;
  • is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Administrative Law Section;
  • has an exemplary record and reputation in the legal community and follows the highest ethical standards; and
  • has an exemplary record of active participation in the efforts to improve the administrative and regulatory process for regulators, the regulated public, the citizens of North Carolina and in the interests of justice.

Previous recipients of the Administrative Law Award for Excellence are Fred Morrison (2017), Jack Nichols (2018) and John N. (Nick) Fountain (2019).

Due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, the award was presented online, to which McLawhorn provided this response.

This article is part of the August 2020 issue of North Carolina Lawyer. Access a curated view of NC Lawyer or view the table of contents.