During three years as attorney general in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, Thornburgh took a tough stance on white-collar and hate crimes and had a key role in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. For those efforts, he has been acknowledged for his commitment to civil rights issues with awards and recognition from numerous legal organizations and committees. Currently of counsel to K&L Gates, a firm he first joined in the late 1950s, Thornburgh serves as an adviser to the firm’s government affairs clients. He is widely known as an outstanding private lawyer with an unrelenting devotion to the public interest sector. He has been called one the most legendary lawyers in Washington, D.C., history.