On Demand: 2024 Legislative Update. Presented by KACDL Education Chair Abe Mashni and KACDL Legislative Agent Philip Lawson (2024)

Philip Lawson
Email: plawson@truelawky.com
Phone: (502) 594-1375

Biography

Abe Mashni, 2024KACDL President Elect and Education Committee Chair, is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Lexington, Kentucky. After graduating the University of Kentucky, magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Abe earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. While in law school, Abe participated on the Trial Advocacy Board and was granted a Limited Practice License from the Kentucky Supreme Court. Abe utilized the limited license to its full extent by working at the Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney office. During this time, he prosecuted a felony trial and argued several evidentiary hearings on behalf of the Commonwealth – all while still in law school. As a result of this experience, Abe has intimate knowledge of how prosecutors and law enforcement officers will develop and prosecute your criminal case.

Abe began his legal career as a Staff Attorney for the Fayette Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Bunnell. In this capacity, he gained invaluable insight of the inner workings of a complicated court system. After a great year working for Judge Bunnell, Abe became an associate attorney at Baldani, Rowland & Richardson in 2014.
In 2018, the firm changed its name to Baldani Law Group and Abe was made partner. While in private practice, Abe has successfully represented clients in over 20 counties across central Kentucky. His jury trial experience includes: federal criminal defense, state felony criminal defense, state misdemeanor criminal defense, and personal injury. He has also handled several family law bench trials including: divorce, custody, child support, and Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Abe’s memberships include the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (KACDL) where he also serves on the board of directors, Kentucky Bar Association, and the United States District Court Eastern District of Kentucky.In 2019, Abe was awarded the Clarence Darrow Prodigy Award by the Kentucky Associate of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Abe takes great pride in knowing that his clients put their trust in him to get results. He gives every client his cell phone number because emergencies don’t only happen between 8:30am-5:00pm. By giving each case individualized attention and focusing on the details, Abe can be proactive and aggressive in fighting for his client’s rights.

Abe is a former “Big” brother and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass. When not volunteering his time or practicing law, Abe enjoys spending time with his wife, Ann, and bird dog, Cooper. He also is an avid golfer, hunter, and University of Kentucky sports fan.

Philip Coleman Lawson was born in Pineville, Bell County, Kentucky, the son of two lawyers. He attended high school at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thereafter, he attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

While at Centre, he was a member of the Varsity Baseball and Golf Teams while being an active member of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. After a summer internship, at the Washington, D.C. office of former United States Representative, A.B. ("Ben") Chandler, III, Philip decided to follow in his parent's footsteps and pursue a career as a lawyer. After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in History with a minor in Government, Philip enrolled at the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law. While at UofL, Philip was an active member of the Moot Court Board and UofL's Kentucky Intrastate Mock Trial Team. Philip also clerked for mid-size firm in Louisville, Kentucky in the areas of state criminal defense, federal criminal defense, and insurance defense. Furthermore, during law school, Philip was honored to serve as a law clerk under former Chief Judge Hon. Sara W. Combs of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in Frankfort, Kentucky.

After law school, Philip moved to Frankfort, Kentucky with his wife, Whitney True Lawson, and became a Trial Attorney with the Department of Public Advocacy in the Frankfort, Kentucky office. As a Trial Attorney, Philip represented hundreds of clients in over a thousand cases ranging from minor traffic infractions and DUI's in District Court to serious felonies in Circuit Court. Philip also represented clients in Juvenile Court and Family Court.

After two years as a public defender, Philip joined a large statewide firm in Lexington, Kentucky where he continued to practice extensively in state law criminal defense. However, he also expanded his practice area to include insurance defense, where he represented insureds of numerous national insurance companies involving car wreck litigation, trucking litigation, slip and fall, products liability, construction defect, and many other types of claims. He worked alongside insureds and insurance adjusters during the course of numerous cases that took Philip as far east as Whitesburg, Kentucky and as west as Franklin, Kentucky. While representing these insureds, Philip obtained a first-hand understanding of how insurance adjusters view and evaluate claims.

Aside from state criminal defense and insurance defense, Philip further expanded his practice to federal criminal defense, personal injury, family law, and complex civil litigation such as real estate litigation, business litigation, and administrative litigation. Additionally, he represented numerous individuals and companies entangled in criminal investigations.

In 2017, Philip joined his wife, Whitney T. Lawson, and father-in-law, J. Guthrie True, at True Guarnieri Ayer, LLP in Frankfort, Kentucky. Philip continues to represent clients in state law criminal defense, federal criminal defense, personal injury, family law, and complex civil litigation in Frankfort, Kentucky and throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Outside of his law practice, Philip is an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky where he is a member of the Permanent Endowment Committee. He enjoys spending time with his wife and his two-year old son, playing golf and basketball, duck hunting, and following University of Kentucky athletics.
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