With
2024
in
the
rearview
mirror,
it’s
now
time
to
announce
the
winner
of
our
annual
Lawyer
of
the
Year competition.
The
vote
for
the
honor
was
not
a
close
one,
not
even
one
little
bit.
Our
top
candidate
took
home
more
than
50%
of
the
vote,
while
our
second-place
finisher
(perhaps
one
of
our
worthiest
contenders)
had
26%
of
the
total
tally.
In
fact,
the
new
titleholder
secured
almost
300
more
votes
than
this
year’s
silver
medalist.
Before
we
announce
which
luminary
lawyer
prevailed,
let’s
review
Above
the
Law’s
past
Lawyers
of
the
Year:
In
a
year
where
the
legitimacy
of
elections
and
the
legitimacy
of
the
winners
of
those
elections
took
hold
across
the
national
news,
it
makes
sense
that
amid
a
very
curious
voting
cycle,
the
lawyer
who
came
out
on
top
noted
in
his
self-nomination
that
he
was
“completely
unqualified”
to
win
but
that
“[f]ar
less
qualified
people
have
won
far
more
important
elections
this
year.”
In
the
end,
it
was
Ryan
Protter,
a
recent
law
school
graduate
who
currently
serves
as
a
law
clerk
in
the
New
Jersey
Appellate
Division,
who
took
home
the
title
in
our
2024
Lawyer
of
the
Year
competition.
Referring
to
himself
on
LinkedIn
as
the
“dark
horse
candidate”
in
this
race,
voters
helped
Protter
“do
the
funniest
thing
ever,”
and
handed
him
the
LOTY
honors.
Congratulations
to
Ryan
Protter
on
achieving
the
ultimate
punchline.
Speaking
of
law
clerks,
our
silver
medalist
was
Aliza
Shatzman,
founder
and
president
of
the Legal
Accountability
Project.
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.
Click here
to
read
some
of
her
excellent
columns
on
this
topic.
Congratulations
to
Aliza
Shatzman
on
achieving
what
many
once
considered
to
be
nigh
impossible
for
federal
law
clerks
in
the
United
States.
Congratulations
to
all
of
our
Lawyer
of
the
Year
finalists,
congratulations
to
our
2024
Lawyer
of
the
Year,
Ryan
Protter,
and
a
very
special
congratulations
to
our
runner-up,
Aliza
Shatzman.
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.