Judicial
law
clerks
have
all
sorts
of
special
conditions
attached
to
their
continuing
employment
in
chambers,
and
it
seems
that
accepting
the
honorary
title
of
“Lawyer
of
the
Year”
falls
outside
of
those
eligibility
requirements.
We
were
recently
made
aware
that
Ryan
Protter,
the
clerk
who
took
home
the
most
votes
in
our
2024
contest,
will
be
declining
the
award.
That
said,
it
is
now
time
to
announce
the
brand
new
winner
of
Above
the
Law’s
annual
Lawyer
of
the
Year competition.
We
are
bestowing
that
honor
upon
Aliza
Shatzman,
founder
and
president
of
the Legal
Accountability
Project.
Shatzman
can
add
our
Lawyer
of
the
Year
title
to
her
collection
of
awards
from
various
legal
organizations
for
bringing
meaningful
change
to
chambers
for
law
clerks.
In
what
seemed
like
a
Hurculean
task,
she
made
a
great
deal
of
progress
for
federal
law
clerks
this
year.
After
what
required
a
lot
of
blood,
sweat,
and
tears,
Shatzman
launched
the
Centralized
Clerkships
Database,
essentially
a
“Glassdoor
for
Judges,”
a
tool
meant
to
empower
clerkship
applicants
with
much-needed
transparency
and
inside
information
from
former
clerks
about
judicial
work
environments.
“I
strongly
endorse
Aliza,
as
her
work
on
the
Legal
Accountability
Project
has
been
immensely
valuable
and
she
is
more
than
deserving,”
Protter
told
Above
the
Law.
Click here
to
read
some
of
her
excellent
columns
on
this
topic.
Congratulations
to
Aliza
Shatzman
—
Above
the
Law’s
official
2024
Lawyer
of
the
Year
—
on
achieving
what
many
once
considered
to
be
nigh
impossible
for
federal
law
clerks
in
the
United
States.
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.