Creating a holistic public defender system, protecting a vulnerable group from imminent housing loss and advancing the American Bar Association’s mission to assure meaningful access to justice are some of the accomplishments recognized by the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division (GPSLD) through its 2025 Dorsey, Hodson and Nelson Awards.
The Dorsey Award honors an outstanding public defender or legal aid lawyer; the Hodson Award recognizes an exceptional government or public sector law office; and the Nelson Award recognizes superior, sustained contributions to the ABA by an individual public lawyer.
“Now, more than ever, public lawyers are working tirelessly to provide access to justice and uphold the rule of law,” said Liani Reeves, chair-elect of the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division. “It is critical for the public to see lawyers and members of the legal profession at the forefront of this work. GPSLD is proud to honor these exceptional public lawyers and leaders, and we thank them for the essential roles they play in building trust and confidence in our justice system.”
This year’s honorees are:
The 2025 Dorsey Award: Brendon Woods, Alameda County, California Public Defender
Over more than a decade, Brendon Woods has expanded his office to include in-house social workers, immigration attorneys and client advocates, ensuring clients receive holistic support beyond the courtroom. He has led successful legislative efforts, fought for racial equity in jury selection and created civic education and voter engagement initiatives for youth and incarcerated people. He created LYRIC (Learn Your Rights in California), an in-house youth education program that has taught more than 6,000 students their constitutional rights in police encounters; VOICE (Voter Outreach Increases Community Empowerment), which has registered more than 2,300 incarcerated people to vote; and a Racial Justice Act Unit to fight racial bias in prosecution and sentencing.
Woods’ influence extends beyond Alameda County. He has testified before the California Legislature, authored op-eds and served on statewide and national boards, including the California Public Defenders Association, the Council on Criminal Justice and the National Association for Public Defenders. His legislative advocacy helped secure the passage of key reforms like the California Racial Justice Act, AB 3070 (to curb discriminatory jury exclusions) and AB 1981 (to increase juror pay and enhance jury diversity).
The 2025 Hodson Award: Alameda City Attorney’s Office
The Alameda City Attorney’s Office (ACAO), through collaboration between elected officials, staff and the community, acted with urgency and resolve to protect 50 families living on floating homes in the Barnhill Marina from imminent housing displacement.
In early 2021, a new landlord sought to increase skip rents by as much as 178%. Such a rent increase would have put many tenants at risk of becoming unhoused. About 50% of tenants were over the age of 65. Many were low-income or fixed-income households and without the means to absorb such rent increases.
ACAO moved quickly to draft an urgency ordinance that would extend local rent control protections to maritime residential tenancies. With just two days to spare before a deadline for residents to pay the rent increases, the Alameda City Council unanimously adopted the urgency ordinance. ACAO vigorously defended the newly adopted ordinance in federal court against multiple legal challenges.
When faced with continued non-compliance, ACAO initiated a housing enforcement action seeking to protect the rights of the tenants and to stop the landlord’s continued breaches of local tenant protection laws.
In November 2024, the Alameda County Superior Court ruled fully in favor of the city, imposing more than $335,000 in penalties against the marina owners and issuing a permanent injunction to prevent further harassment of tenants. Additionally, an independent receiver was appointed to manage the marina, ensuring compliance with housing laws and restoring stability to the community.
The 2025 Nelson Award: Edward Monahan
Edward Monahan, national criminal and public defense consultant and trainer, and former chief defender of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, has engaged in a variety of impactful volunteer work for the ABA. He was co-editor of the ABA’s “Tell the Client's Story: Mitigation in Criminal and Death Penalty Cases” (May 2017), served on the ABA Death Penalty Due Process Review Project Steering Committee and was a member of the ABA Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System.
Monahan is a former GPSLD chair and is the current editor-in-chief of GPSLD’s magazine, “The Public Lawyer.” He recently solicited the article, “How Much do Wrongful Convictions Cost Government Entities?”, written by two lawyers with the Innocence Project.
Monahan has contributed hundreds of hours to advancing the ABA’s mission and to improving a vitally important part of public sector practice — representing indigent people in the criminal justice system.
The ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division provides programs, publications and online resources specifically designed for government, public sector and military lawyers, as well as interested law students.
The Dorsey Award honors an outstanding public defender or legal aid lawyer; the Hodson Award recognizes an exceptional government or public sector law office; and the Nelson Award recognizes superior, sustained contributions to the ABA by an individual public lawyer.
“Now, more than ever, public lawyers are working tirelessly to provide access to justice and uphold the rule of law,” said Liani Reeves, chair-elect of the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division. “It is critical for the public to see lawyers and members of the legal profession at the forefront of this work. GPSLD is proud to honor these exceptional public lawyers and leaders, and we thank them for the essential roles they play in building trust and confidence in our justice system.”
This year’s honorees are:
The 2025 Dorsey Award: Brendon Woods, Alameda County, California Public Defender
Over more than a decade, Brendon Woods has expanded his office to include in-house social workers, immigration attorneys and client advocates, ensuring clients receive holistic support beyond the courtroom. He has led successful legislative efforts, fought for racial equity in jury selection and created civic education and voter engagement initiatives for youth and incarcerated people. He created LYRIC (Learn Your Rights in California), an in-house youth education program that has taught more than 6,000 students their constitutional rights in police encounters; VOICE (Voter Outreach Increases Community Empowerment), which has registered more than 2,300 incarcerated people to vote; and a Racial Justice Act Unit to fight racial bias in prosecution and sentencing.
Woods’ influence extends beyond Alameda County. He has testified before the California Legislature, authored op-eds and served on statewide and national boards, including the California Public Defenders Association, the Council on Criminal Justice and the National Association for Public Defenders. His legislative advocacy helped secure the passage of key reforms like the California Racial Justice Act, AB 3070 (to curb discriminatory jury exclusions) and AB 1981 (to increase juror pay and enhance jury diversity).
The 2025 Hodson Award: Alameda City Attorney’s Office
The Alameda City Attorney’s Office (ACAO), through collaboration between elected officials, staff and the community, acted with urgency and resolve to protect 50 families living on floating homes in the Barnhill Marina from imminent housing displacement.
In early 2021, a new landlord sought to increase skip rents by as much as 178%. Such a rent increase would have put many tenants at risk of becoming unhoused. About 50% of tenants were over the age of 65. Many were low-income or fixed-income households and without the means to absorb such rent increases.
ACAO moved quickly to draft an urgency ordinance that would extend local rent control protections to maritime residential tenancies. With just two days to spare before a deadline for residents to pay the rent increases, the Alameda City Council unanimously adopted the urgency ordinance. ACAO vigorously defended the newly adopted ordinance in federal court against multiple legal challenges.
When faced with continued non-compliance, ACAO initiated a housing enforcement action seeking to protect the rights of the tenants and to stop the landlord’s continued breaches of local tenant protection laws.
In November 2024, the Alameda County Superior Court ruled fully in favor of the city, imposing more than $335,000 in penalties against the marina owners and issuing a permanent injunction to prevent further harassment of tenants. Additionally, an independent receiver was appointed to manage the marina, ensuring compliance with housing laws and restoring stability to the community.
The 2025 Nelson Award: Edward Monahan
Edward Monahan, national criminal and public defense consultant and trainer, and former chief defender of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, has engaged in a variety of impactful volunteer work for the ABA. He was co-editor of the ABA’s “Tell the Client's Story: Mitigation in Criminal and Death Penalty Cases” (May 2017), served on the ABA Death Penalty Due Process Review Project Steering Committee and was a member of the ABA Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System.
Monahan is a former GPSLD chair and is the current editor-in-chief of GPSLD’s magazine, “The Public Lawyer.” He recently solicited the article, “How Much do Wrongful Convictions Cost Government Entities?”, written by two lawyers with the Innocence Project.
Monahan has contributed hundreds of hours to advancing the ABA’s mission and to improving a vitally important part of public sector practice — representing indigent people in the criminal justice system.
The ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division provides programs, publications and online resources specifically designed for government, public sector and military lawyers, as well as interested law students.
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