Department of Justice Bestows Highest Awards On Steward ‘01 and Cassidy ‘02

In September, Kevin Cassidy ‘02 and Andrea (Aunnie) Steward ‘01 were each presented with The John Marshall Award, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) highest awards presented to attorneys for contributions and excellence in legal performance.

Twelve awards (to individuals and teams) were presented this year. Steward and Cassidy were part of a team of 14 lawyers from DOJ and United States Attorneys’ Offices that was honored for its hard work on a nationally coordinated series of prosecutions that served to bring justice to one of the Nation’s most egregious violators of environmental and worker safety laws. McWane, Inc., was convicted after trials in two districts and pleas in three districts in five separate cases involving conspiracy and violations of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Occupational Safety and Health Act. McWane, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a major manufacturer of cast-iron pipes. To learn more about the case, read the official press release from the DOJ.

Following her graduation in 2001, Steward clerked for two years in Federal District Court in Alaska for Judge James Singleton. She started her service with DOJ through the Honors Graduate Program in the Environmental Crimes Section, where she worked for three years. Recently, Steward returned to Alaska, where she works in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Anchorage. 

Cassidy joined the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice, through the Honors Graduate Program, immediately after law school. He continues to practice in the Washington DC office of DOJ.