Which attorney dominated the 2019 news?
It’s time to solicit nominations for Above the Law’s annual LAWYER OF THE YEAR competition and we’ll conduct the competition as we’ve always done. Please submit your nominees to us by email (subject line “Lawyer of the Year 2019”). We will review them and pick a slate of finalists, and then you’ll vote on them in a reader poll.
The winner will past LOTY honorees that run the gamut from Chief Justice John Roberts (2012) to President Barack Obama (2008) to Bryan Wilson, “The Texas Law Hawk” (2015). Last year’s honoree, Michael Avenatti, was absolutely everywhere in 2018 from taking on presidents to trying to become one. And while he had a rougher 2019, there’s a decent argument that he was the most newsworthy attorney yet again.
What does it take to be nominated? As we’ve explained before:
What are the criteria for being our Lawyer of the Year? Since you’re doing the nominating and voting, it’s really up to you.
You can nominate a LOTY based on whatever reasoning you choose — e.g., because the lawyer in question is influential, infamous, awesome, or awful.
A few notes — we’ve laid out before: “As reflected in the past victory of Loyola 2L (2007), not all nominees need to be famous — or even named. As reflected in the past victory of Kyle McEntee and Patrick Lynch (2010), the co-founders of Law School Transparency, you can nominate multiple people if their achievements are closely related.”
The only real rules — and even these are loose — are:
- Please try to nominate actual lawyers (or, obviously, law students).
- Please try to nominate lawyers who are still living.
- Please submit all nominations via email, with this exact subject line: “Lawyer of the Year 2019.”
Let the nominations begin! Please submit your nominations by TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). We’ll consider your thoughts and insights on the potential candidates and put out a ballot shortly thereafter to determine who will vie for the title of Above the Law’s Lawyer of the Year for 2019.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.