The Jacob Burns Center Award for Professional Courage

The Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law will present the Jacob Burns Center Award for Professional Courage to Elizabeth (Liz) Oyer.

Ms. Oyer served in the Department of Justice as United States Pardon Attorney from April 2022 to March 2025, overseeing the Office of the Pardon Attorney. In that role, she was responsible for reviewing applications from individuals across the country seeking pardons and commutations of sentence and preparing recommendations for the President concerning the exercise of his constitutional clemency power. The Pardon Attorney is a career-reserved position in the Senior Executive Service; it is not a political appointment.

Ms. Oyer’s tenure as Pardon Attorney was focused on making second chances through clemency available to all deserving Americans without consideration of status, resources, or politics. During her three years as Pardon Attorney, Ms. Oyer and her team made recommendations to the President in over 15,000 clemency cases, prioritizing those involving overly harsh sentences imposed under outdated laws and policies.

In February, 2025, the Justice Department created a working group tasked with restoring the right to possess firearms to some persons convicted of federal crimes. Ms. Oyer was assigned to this working group. Ms. Oyer was abruptly terminated from her position as Pardon Attorney in March 2025, shortly after she refused to recommend that the actor Mel Gibson, a prominent supporter of President Trump’s, should have his gun rights restored.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Ms. Oyer served for nearly 10 years as a Federal Public Defender. Ms. Oyer started her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley Marcus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. From there, she worked for the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, where she became a partner and practiced civil and criminal litigation before pivoting to public service. She graduated from Harvard Law School (2004) and Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (2001).

Ms. Oyer has published op-eds about her legal work in Rolling Stone magazine, the Washington Post, and BuzzFeed News. The bizarre circumstances surrounding her March 2025 termination from the Department of Justice were covered by the New York Times.

About the Jacob Burns Award for Professional Courage: The Award was created in 2021 to honor legal professionals who displayed courage while fulfilling their obligation to practice law ethically. In 2021 the Award was given to Aaron Van Langevelde, for his courage and ethical conduct while serving as the Vice Chair of the Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers.

Host or Publisher Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law