Andrea Sheridan Ordin Receives LACBA's Shattuck-Price Award

LACBA's highest honor was given during the 2011 Installation and Awards Dinner on June 29.

County Counsel Andrea Sheridan Ordin received the Shattuck-Price Outstanding Lawyer Award, LACBA's highest honor, during the 2011 Installation and Awards Dinner on June 29 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles.

Ordin was named its recipient based on her extraordinary contributions to improving the administration of justice and outstanding dedication to the high principles of the legal profession.

“Andrea Ordin has served as a pioneer for women in the legal profession and has had a profound impact on the influence of the law in each of our lives,” said LACBA President Alan K. Steinbrecher. (See photo above.)

Judge Lourdes Baird (ret.) introduced Ordin during the program (seen at right). Ordin, who served as LACBA president from 1991 to 1992, is the County Counsel for Los Angeles, the first woman to hold the position since it was established in 1913. She leads a staff of more than 250 lawyers who provide legal advice and representation to the Board of Supervisors, county departments, other public offices and agencies, and the more than 100,000 Los Angeles County employees.

During her career, Ordin has held numerous high profile local and statewide positions. In 1983, she was the Chief Assistant Attorney General of the Public Rights Division for the State of California, supervising 140 lawyers assigned to antitrust, consumer protection, environment, and civil rights sections. She also served as the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, the first woman appointed to that post.

In 1991, Ordin was one of 10 members of the Christopher Commission to study the Los Angeles Police Department following the Rodney King beating, and was appointed to serve on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, the civilian oversight board for the LAPD, by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a position she held from 2005 to 2010.

Prior to becoming County Counsel, Ordin was a partner and counsel in the Los Angeles office of the international law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where she focused on complex business and environmental litigation and international corporate investigations. She also oversaw the firm’s pro bono programs in Los Angeles and Orange counties.