Melissa Lambert

County Attorney for Harford County
Harford County Government

Melissa Lambert has served as an attorney in the public sector for more than 30 years, including more than 18 years with the state’s attorney’s office. Th roughout her tenure, Lambert has been recognized for her work on family violence, including her eff orts to establish a domestic violence center in Harford County. She also created the first domestic violence docket focusing the courts on family violence issues and worked undercover on the narcotics task force.

While she served as the county attorney, the court of appeals reversed a $45 million judgment against Harford County and reaffirmed that a company cannot challenge county zoning decisions in court without first exhausting administrative remedies.

“Not only did this reverse the largest judgment against the county in its history, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept the case, it ended 30 years of ongoing litigation between the county and MRA,” Lambert says.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler described Lambert as a “knowledgeable and hardworking prosecutor” dedicated to her career and work.

“As sheriff, my appreciation and respect for [her] legal prowess coupled with her engaging personality has only grown,” Gahler wrote. “… [She] possesses the values and morals to ensure she approaches her duties from a sound legal perspective and does so with fairness and impartiality.”

Lambert also conducts training for law enforcement officers and 911 dispatchers to help them “more effectively carry out their assignments.” She also teaches criminal law and procedure to aspiring officers, victim advocates, probation officers and lawyers at Stevenson University.

“I have been able to draw upon those relationships to connect students with victim advocates, probation agents and law enforcement professionals one-on-one so they can interact directly with them to explore these career options,” Lambert says. “I really enjoy working with students to expose them to different aspects of a criminal law career.”

“I really enjoy working with students to expose them to different aspects of a criminal law career.”