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Two IU McKinney alumni have been selected to receive Indiana Lawyer’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Leadership in Law program. Susan Brooks, ’85, and Lacy Johnson, ’81, will be honored during the ceremony on November 9.

Brooks represented Indiana’s 5^th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, serving serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee, as chair of the House Ethics Committee, as co-chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus and as a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Prior to her service in Congress, Brooks was general counsel and senior vice president for workforce and economic development at Ivy Tech Community College. In 2001, she was appointed U. S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana by President George W. Bush, serving six years at that post. She also has worked in the Government Services Practice Group at Ice Miller and served two years as deputy mayor of Indianapolis under Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. Brooks began her career as a criminal defense lawyer, working for 13 years with the law firm McClure, McClure and Kammen.

Brooks has been appointed as a distinguished scholar and ambassador at large at IU McKinney. Among her various roles, Brooks will co-teach a course on law and leadership with former dean and Paul E. Beam Professor of Law Andrew R. Klein.

Johnson is a partner in Taft Law’s Public Affairs Strategies Group and partner-in-charge of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He served on the Biden-Harris transition team, was a member of Vice President Harris’s Midwest finance team and is a trusted advisor and supporter of many Congressional Black Caucus leaders and members.

Prior to his private legal practice, Johnson served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indiana State Police and was a Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Naval Intelligence Reserves. He served as the 7th District chairman of the Indiana State Democratic Party and as a delegate for the National Democratic party. He is also the past president of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.

Johnson was named to Lawyers of Color’s inaugural Nation’s Best List in 2019, was listed among Who’s Who in Black Indianapolis in 2018, and has been named a Sagamore of the Wabash, among many other honors. He received the Cornerstone Award from Indiana University and the IU Foundation during the Partners in Philanthropy Awards in 2018.

Both Brooks and Johnson serve on IU McKinney’s Board of Visitors. Brooks was named the law school's Outstanding Alumna of the Year in 2006. Johnson received Indiana University’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2014. It is IU’s highest award given only to alumni. He received IU McKinney’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.