FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1997                        (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
          AXELRAD RECEIVES ARMY'S HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of the Army has awarded
Jeffrey Axelrad, Director of the Civil Division's Federal Tort
Claims Branch, the Army's highest civilian award, the Department
of Justice announced today. 
 
     The award, the Commander's Award for Public Service,
recognized Axelrad's office for the vital assistance provided to
the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and the Army Claims
Service, an agency that annually processes millions of dollars in
claims against and on behalf of the government. 

     Major General Michael J. Nardotti Jr., Judge Advocate
General of the Army, presented the award to Axelrad at ceremonies
in the office of Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger of
the Civil Division.

     "Jeffrey has done an outstanding job for the Department and
is most deserving of this award," said Hunger.  "He is a
dedicated civil servant whose efforts over 30 years are
emblematic of the exceptional standard of service performed by
federal employees."  

     The award, in noting Axelrad's contribution, says in part: 
"The immeasurable cooperation and support Mr. Axelrad provided to
the United Sates Army Claims Service and to the Army's Litigation
Division, greatly assisted the Army in defending civil suits, in
settling meritorious tort claims, and in pursuing claims in favor
of the United States."

     Axelrad, a graduate of Northwestern University Law
School, joined the Department as a Civil Division trial attorney
in 1967 and was named Director of the Torts Branch in 1977.
  
     Among other honors, Axelrad received the Presidential Award
for Meritorious Service in 1990; the Stanley D. Rose Memorial
Award, the Civil Division's highest award, in 1991; and the
Senior Executive Service Meritorious Award in 1992. 

     Axelrad was lead counsel in the swine flu immunizations
product liability litigation, which was considered one of the
most complex multi-district litigation cases ever handled by the
government.

     A native of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Axelrad received an
undergraduate degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology in
1964.  He is the father of two children.
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