Evelyn O. A. Darden

Evelyn O. A. Darden is an American civil rights lawyer and former prosecutor who served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Maryland. She was one of the first African American women to hold that position and later established Addison-Darden, the first Black mother-son law firm in Maryland. Darden received the 2003 Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for her role in a class-action juvenile abuse lawsuit against the state and was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Early life and education Darden is a native of Annapolis, Maryland, and grew up in the small African American community of Browns Woods. She was homeschooled by her mother at the ages of four and five.

Her private practice experience included a five-year partnership with trial attorney Johnnie Cochran. In 2002, Cochran nominated her for the National Trial Lawyer of the Year for Public Justice Award. Darden served two terms on the board of governors for the Maryland Trial Attorneys, where she lobbied for the repeal of the Parent-Child Immunity Law in Maryland.

Darden received the Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for securing a $4.5 million settlement in the case Gary J. vs. State of Maryland. In 2003, her firm was named Trial Lawyers of the Year by the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association for this class-action case, which concerned juvenile abuse. In 2020, Darden was inducted into both the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame and the Howard County Women's Hall of Fame.

Personal life Evelyn Darden married Mark Darden in 1965 after completing her second year of college. She later donated a kidney to her husband when he required a transplant. As of 2020, she is a resident of Howard County, Maryland.

In December 2016, through her cousin Dale Green, Darden discovered she is a descendant of reverend Samuel Green Sr., a first cousin of Harriet Tubman. Darden served on the board of directors for the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. She served as the chairman of the Bates Legacy Center for four years.