[3] Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lawson graduated from Brother Rice High School in 1969.

He was a law clerk for Justice James L. Ryan, Michigan Supreme Court from 1976 to 1977.

On August 5, 1999, Lawson was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan vacated by Avern Cohn.

Lawson was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and received his commission on June 2, 2000.

In October 2006 Lawson moved to the Southern Division into a courtroom recently vacated by Judge Gerald Ellis Rosen.