Ms. Lawler has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and American Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.  She graduated cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, IL, where she served on the board of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.  Mrs. Lawler received the Pennington County Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year award in 2017 and the South Dakota Young Lawyer of the Year award in 2020.  She serves on South Dakota’s Juvenile Justice Oversight Council, the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center’s Advisory Board, and the Black Hills Community Theatre’s Board of Directors.  Mrs. Lawler has been with the Pennington County Public Defender’s Office since 2013 and currently oversees the abuse and neglect and the juvenile departments.