Attorney Jason R. Baron Wins Major Award for Work at the National Archives
Press Release · Thursday, June 26, 2014

Washington, DC

Recipient of Justice Tom C. Clark Award for Outstanding Government Lawyer

I had a dream career working on litigation matters of public importance, and I will always cherish the time I spent with my colleagues in the public service. I wish to especially thank Gary M. Stern for his nomination of me, and for his support during the 13 wonderful years at the National Archives. This award would not have been possible without Gary allowing his staff the freedom to pursue wide-ranging academic interests of benefit to the National Archives. He has been an exemplary supervisor and a wonderful leader," said Mr. Baron.

"In his time at the Department of Justice and the National Archives, Jason became what many people regard as the "go to" lawyer in the government on issues involving preservation of electronic records under the Federal Records Act" said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero. "Jason has been a thought leader in pushing the federal government to adopt smarter forms of electronic archiving, and in finding better ways to search through large volumes of the government's electronically stored record information."

The Justice Tom C. Clark Award is named in memory of Justice Clark, who served as Attorney General of the United States, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and as the first Director of the Federal Judicial Center. Mr. Baron is the 51st recipient of this distinguished award.

Baron has a long and accomplished career of Government service. He served as the first Director of Litigation for the National Archives, and as a trial lawyer and senior counsel in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division in the U.S Department of Justice. In those roles, Jason helped drive the government's adoption of electronic record keeping practices, and defended the government's interests in a variety of complex federal court litigation. His many awards include prestigious 2011 Emmett Leahy Award, recognizing his career achievements in the field of records and information management, and his selection by The American Lawyer as one of the "Top 50 Big Law Innovators in the Last 50 Years" for being an "e-discovery trailblazer."

Baron left government service and joined Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLC's Information Governance and eDiscovery Group earlier this year.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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