HARRISBURG (April 4, 2017) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Commission on Women in the Profession will present its annual Lynette Norton Award to Victoria S. Madden, chief counsel for the Department of the Auditor General in Harrisburg.
An awards ceremony honoring Madden will be held during the commission’s 24th annual conference, “Lessons Learned from the Women’s Movement,” May 11, at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh.
The Norton Award was created in memory of Lynette Norton, a founding member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession who died in 2002. Norton was an advocate for young women in the legal profession and worked to promote literacy and women’s rights. The award is designed to recognize and encourage female attorneys who excel in litigation skills and who are devoted to mentoring female lawyers.
Throughout her more than 20 years of public service with the Department of Corrections, Office of Attorney General, Board of Probation and Parole, and Department of Auditor General, Madden has handled a wide range of cases. Most notably, she achieved defense verdicts while representing the Department of Corrections in an excessive use of force class action matter arising out of a prison riot in Coal Township and in a matter involving the Office of Attorney General Drug Task Force. Madden most recently was involved in the National Collegiate Athletic Association suit against the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania Auditor General.
In addition to being an accomplished litigator, Madden is dedicated to improving the profession through the mentoring of attorneys, especially women, through her bar association work, as well as within state government. She is currently a member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession Executive Council and co-chair of its Legislative Committee. Madden is also a member and former chair of the PBA Committee on Corrections, Government Lawyers Committee, Civil & Equal Rights Committee, Appellate Advocacy Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Quality of Life/Balance Committee. In addition, she is a member of the Dauphin County Bar Association.
Madden completed the Leadership Development Institute for Women in Government in 1999 and received the YWCA Women of Excellence Award in 2013 for her contributions to the workplace and community.
In service to her community, Madden’s pro bono experience consists of: mediations for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Office of General Counsel’s Mediation Program, and participation in the Legal Clinic of Dauphin County YWCA for protection from abuse orders and the Dauphin County Bar Association Law Clinic.
Madden holds degrees from the University of Delaware and Widener University School of Law.
The award will be presented during the May 11 luncheon, which also will include a keynote presentation by Lilly Ledbetter, a nationally-recognized employment discrimination plaintiff and co-author of Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond. Details and registration information for the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession conference are posted on the PBA’s website at http://www.pabar.org/pdf/2017AnnualMeetingBrochure.pdf.