Washington Lawyer Wins NABE Luminary Award

October 16, 2025

D.C. Bar staff (from left) Megan Crawford, Fleur Harris, and John Murph celebrate another Luminary Award win at the 2025 NABE Communication Section Workshop.

The District of Columbia Bar’s Washington Lawyer magazine earned another Luminary Award from the National Association for Bar Professionals (NABE) Communication Section during its annual workshop held this year in Boise, Idaho, from October 15 to 17.

D.C. Bar staff writer John Murph’s feature article, “Ivy City: A Case Study for Environmental Justice,” won best authored article award  for his in-depth reporting into the decades-long existence of a chemical plant in the heart of a historically Black neighborhood in the District of Columbia.

The article, which appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Washington Lawyer, revealed a troubling gap in statutory coverage, leaving residents with little recourse and regulators with limited response. In writing his story, Murph was able to flex his investigative journalism skills and drill down on the legal issues at play, taking the article beyond what news outlets had previously covered.

This is the third time that Murph’s work has been recognized by NABE. In 2022 his article “Legal Deserts: No-Man's Land of Affordable Legal Help” won best authored article among large bar publications. He took home that same honor in 2023 for his article on artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and the future of legal practice.

The Luminary Awards are held each year as part of the NABE Communication Section Workshop, where communications leaders and specialists from bar associations across the country gather for professional development and networking opportunities.

The 2026 workshop will be held in Washington, D.C., to be hosted by the D.C. Bar.