Lawler moved from the west of Scotland to Burntisland around 1920 and was on the clerical staff at the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company. Records appear to show he was the first secretary of the club and also undertook a number of other duties around the club until his untimely death in October 1945. In the 1925 season he was the President of the Fifeshire Secondary Juvenile Association and direct delegate to the Scottish Association. It was noted how much he done to foster amateur football in Burntisland, Fife and the Lothian’s.