HARRISBURG (April 1, 2016) - The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Commission on Women in the Profession will present its annual Lynette Norton Award to Marion K. Munley, a partner of Munley Law, Scranton.

An awards ceremony honoring Munley will be held during the commission's 23rd annual conference, "Women of the United States Supreme Court," May 11, at the Hershey Lodge, Hershey.

The Norton Award was created in memory of Lynette Norton, a founding member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession who died in 2002. Norton was an advocate for young women in the legal profession and worked to promote literacy and women's rights. The award is designed to recognize and encourage female attorneys who excel in litigation skills and who are devoted to mentoring female lawyers.

In 1998, Munley founded the Association of Women Lawyers in Lackawanna County that provides mentoring, networking and scholarships to female lawyers.

Munley served for three years as chair and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Marywood University. She is the current chair of Marywood's Academic Affairs Committee. During her involvement at university, Munley has served as a role model and mentor to young women anticipating and preparing for careers in the law and law-related fields. She delivered the keynote address and was awarded an honorary doctorate at the university's 2014 graduation ceremony.

Munley is active in Circle 200, a group created to provide mentoring and networking among senior-level executive women in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Active in the organized bar, she is a member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession Executive Council, served as moderator at the commission's 2015 spring conference and co-chair of the 2016 spring conference.

Munley is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice Executive Committee and Board of Governors. She served as the 2012-13 chair of the association's Women Trial Lawyers Committee.

Muley is a past president of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers.

She has served on the Board of the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) and as a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

She currently serves as secretary for the Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice and recently served as first vice chair of the association's Women Trial Lawyers Caucus.

Munley became the second woman in Pennsylvania to earn board certification as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. In addition, Munley is board certified by the Association of Plaintiff's Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America and is a certified mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

A sought-after speaker, Munley educates other legal professionals about litigation issues in Pennsylvania and across the nation. In 2013, she was honored with membership in the Melvin M. Belli Society, which is dedicated to the promotion of continuing legal education and advancing the litigation skills of the trial bar. She annually serves as a faculty member of the nonprofit Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming. She is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the educational arm of the PBA.

In service to the community, Munley provided pro bono representation to 9/11 rescue workers before the Victim's Compensation Fund in New York City, serves as a volunteer with the Hope Clinic that provides free legal services to the needy, and frequently offers lectures to seniors citizens at Northeastern Pennsylvania Senior Centers on topics of interest to them.

In 2011, Munley was named one of the Top 25 Women Business Professionals by the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. In 2013, she received the Scranton Chamber of Commerce Women of Excellence Award.

Munley holds degrees from the University of Scranton and Temple University School of Law.

The award will be presented during the May 11 luncheon, which also will include a keynote presentation by Joan Biskupic, award-winning author and journalist who writes about the U.S. Supreme Court. Details and registration information for the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession conference are posted on the PBA's website at www.pabar.org.

Founded in 1895, the PBA strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.