Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Honors New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang with the 2025 Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University honored New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang with the 2025 Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence at a ceremony on September 30, 2025, at Pace University’s New York City campus.

IG Lang, who has served as New York State’s Inspector General since 2021, was recognized for her exceptional leadership and integrity in overseeing public sector investigations, her commitment to fairness and transparency, and her visionary approach to accountability and reform.

“IG Lang represents the highest ideals of public service and prosecutorial excellence,” said Pace Haub Law Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “She has brought an innovative, principled, and compassionate approach to oversight, reform, and the responsible use of prosecutorial power. Her career is a model for our students and for all who seek to serve the cause of justice.”

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Following the presentation of the award by Kristine Hamann, Executive Director of the Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence and member of the Tucker Prize Jury, IG Lang addressed an audience of Assistant District Attorneys and prosecutors from across New York and beyond, joined by civic leaders, public servants, and attorneys, as well as distinguished students and faculty from the Pace Haub Law.

During her remarks, IG Lang reflected on the importance of integrity and fairness in prosecutorial work at a time when, as she noted, “so many of the most excellent prosecutors in our city and our country are being truly tested.” She emphasized that true prosecutorial excellence means speaking truth to power, taking on hard cases, and “operating not just with integrity, but within the bounds of law, with decency and civility.”

IG Lang also underscored the critical role of procedural justice in strengthening public trust. “The procedures used to make decisions must be fair and impartial, and the people who make those decisions must be respectful of the rights and dignity of all involved,” she said. “When individuals feel seen and heard, even when outcomes are difficult, trust in institutions grows.”

We need people in government, especially on the integrity side of government, who aren’t afraid to do the right thing. We should all be very grateful that we have a public servant like IG Lang at the helm.

—Robert S. Tucker

Drawing on her personal and professional journey, IG Lang recounted how early experiences with victims’ families, as well as her work creating a groundbreaking course that brought prosecutors and incarcerated individuals into the same classroom, shaped her commitment to fairness and empathy. She spoke movingly of her continued efforts as Inspector General to advance justice in New York’s correctional system, including investigations that have transformed drug testing practices, curtailed the use of solitary confinement, and shed light on systemic abuses.

Robert S. Tucker, whose endowment funds the prize, praised Lang’s contributions to public integrity: “We need people in government, especially on the integrity side of government, who aren’t afraid to do the right thing. We should all be very grateful that we have a public servant like IG Lang at the helm.”

IG Lang was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul as New York State’s 11th Inspector General in October 2021. A lifelong New Yorker, attorney, and educator, she leads statewide investigations into allegations of fraud, corruption, and abuse within New York State government. Under her leadership, the Office of the Inspector General has expanded transparency and technology initiatives, strengthened protections for vulnerable populations, and fostered a multidisciplinary approach to public integrity enforcement.

The Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence is awarded annually to an individual or a group of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of criminal prosecution and who demonstrate excellence in prosecutorial practice. Honorees are selected each year by a jury comprising former prosecutors and Haub Law faculty members. The award ceremony brings together prosecutors from across the region and state, civic leaders, members of the judiciary, New York City government and the Haub Law community to recognize these distinguished individuals for their work. Past Award Recipients include Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and the Office of the Bronx District Attorney, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, former New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, and Richard A. Brown, the late Queens District Attorney, among others.

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