Government Lawyers Division
The Government Lawyers Division (GLD) provides a forum for exchanging ideas among government attorneys and aims to foster communication and cooperation between government and private practice lawyers.
The Division’s
Grant F. Langley Service Award is presented to a GLD member with at least five years of service as a government lawyer. This award recognizes a lawyer who provides services not only to the government and citizens, but also to other government attorneys. It pays tribute to a government attorney working to increase the public’s respect for government lawyers while promoting government legal work as a rewarding career choice.
The late
Michael P. May is the recipient of the 2023 Grant F. Langley Service Award. Attorney May passed away on October 3, 2022 after an impressive and impactful career representing municipal clients. He spent 25 years in private practice focused on municipal law and municipal utilities. From 2004 to 2020, May was the Madison City Attorney. He instituted many policies, practices, and procedures that have had a lasting impact on the City Attorney's Office's operations and mission. Attorney May is famously credited with saving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile with a five-word legal opinion: “you know, I don't know."
Throughout his career, Attorney May was recognized for his expertise in a variety of municipal law topics and issues including public utilities, ethics codes, and parliamentary procedure. He was known for working through legal issues and questions deeply and thoughtfully and was an unflappable and steady counselor advising city officials.
May believed in giving back to the legal profession and he served in a variety of roles with the State Bar, including as a member of the Government Lawyers Division Board and as a member and President of the Senior Lawyers Division Board. He also served on the State Bar's Standing Committee on ethics and was a Wisconsin Law Foundation Fellow. Under his leadership, the Madison City Attorney's Office participated in the State Bar Diversity Clerkship Program.
May was a husband, father, and grandfather. He was active in the First Unitarian Society of Madison and the Downtown Madison Rotary. He was also a passionate Wisconsin sports fan who loved history, politics, and the law.
Those who knew Attorney May became familiar with his kindness, thoughtfulness, profound intellect, and sense of humor. He was an excellent ambassador for the legal profession and government lawyers and will be remembered for the lessons he taught and the many careers he influenced.
