Announcing the 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers Finalists

ALM and The National Trial Lawyers are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers. The lawyers and law firms selected this year have demonstrated repeated success in cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs over the last 15 months. They also possess a solid track record of client wins over the past three to five years.

While the categories are very similar to past years, 2020 marks the official launch of a strategic partnership between ALM and The National Trial Lawyers. The National Trial Lawyers is a membership organization of civil plaintiffs and criminal defense attorneys, offering education and networking as well as recognition programs for the top lawyers in the plaintiff and criminal defense bar across the country.

ALM’s new 2020 partnership with NTL allowed the company to expand its reach to new organizations and geographies. Our Elite Trial Lawyers awards maintain the same prestige as they’ve always had, spotlighting industry-leading plaintiffs lawyers and firms. 

Below are the finalists for 2020 ETL Law Firm of the Year for each practice area:

Age Discrimination—Law Firm of the Year

• The Mastromarco Firm
• Wigdor

Antitrust—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll 
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
• Labaton Sucharow 
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
• Motley Rice 
• Joseph Saveri Law Firm

Aviation—Law Firm of the Year

• Clifford Law Offices
• Robb & Robb

Bankruptcy and Commercial Litigation—Law Firm of the Year

• Grant & Eisenhofer
• Reid Collins & Tsai
• Zuckerman Spaeder

Brain Injury—Law Firm of the Year

• Cohen, Placitella & Roth
• The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson
• McKeen & Associates
• The Vartazarian Law Firm

Business Torts—Law Firm of the Year

• Molo Lamken
• Rabinovich Sokolov Law Group
• Reid Collins & Tsai
• Rogge Dunn Group

Child Abuse—Law Firm of the Year

• Aldous \ Walker
• Gresham

Civil Rights—Law Firm of the Year

• The Cochran Firm
• DiCello Levitt
• Wigdor

Class Actions—Law Firm of the Year

• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll 
• Girard Sharp
• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
• Labaton Sucharow
• Motley Rice
• Susman Godfrey

Consumer Protection—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll 
• Consumer Litigation Associates
• Dovel & Luner
• Kanner & Whiteley
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
• Motley Rice
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd

Dram Shop—Law Firm of the Year

• Aldous \ Walker
• Avera & Smith
• Lucas Magazine
• Moore, O’Brien & Foti
• Richard P. Zaretsky

Disability Rights—Law Firm of the Year

• Berry Law Firm
• Gordon Thomas Honeywell
• Sheridan & Associates
• The Velez Law Firm

Employment Rights—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• McNicholas & McNicholas
• Nichols Kaster
• Rogge Dunn Group
• Sanford Heisler Sharp
• Wigdor

Environmental Protection—Law Firm of the Year

• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
• Kanner & Whiteley

Financial Products—Law Firm of the Year

• Consumer Litigation Associates
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
• Motley Rice
• Rogge Dunn Group

Gender Discrimination—Law Firm of the Year

• Rogge Dunn Group
• Sanford Heisler Sharp
• Wigdor

Immigration—Law Firm of the Year

• Kanner & Whiteley
• Labaton Sucharow
• The Olawale Law Firm

Insurance Liability—Law Firm of the Year

• Daly & Black
• Motley Rice

Intentional Torts—Law Firm of the Year

• The Cochran Firm
• Gresham
• Spangenberg Shibley & Liber
• Tzangas Plakas Mannos
• Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co
• James N. Taylor Co

Mass Torts—Law Firm of the Year

• Baum Hedlund
• Clifford Law Offices
• Motley Rice
• Napoli Shkolnik
• Panish Shea & Boyle
• Robins Kaplan
• Simmons Hanly Conroy

Medical Malpractice—Law Firm of the Year

• Bertram Law Group
• Beausay & Nichols Law Firm
• Gurfein Douglas
• Kelley | Uustal
• Robins Kaplan

Motor Vehicle—Law Firm of the Year

• Brodhead Law
• Law Offices of J. Chrisp
• Wilshire Law Firm
• Panish Shea & Boyle
• Rappaport, Glass, Levine, & Zullo
• Ricigliano and Filopei

Personal Injury—Law Firm of the Year

• Panish Shea & Boyle
• Mary Alexander & Associates
• Motley Rice
• Kabateck
• Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore
• Robins Kaplan
• Kelley | Uustal
• Zehl & Associates

Pharmaceuticals Litigation—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
• Girard Sharp
• Kanner & Whiteley
• Motley Rice
• Simmons Hanly Conroy

Privacy/Data Breach—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• DiCello Levitt
• Girard Sharp
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
• Motley Rice
• Stueve Siegel Hanson

Products Liability—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• Motley Rice
• Simmons Hanly Conroy
• DiCello Levitt
• Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball
• The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson

Racial Discrimination—Law Firm of the Year

• Wigdor
• V. James DeSimone Law
• Ionno & Higbee Attorneys At Law

Securities Litigation—Law Firm of the Year

• Berger Montague
• Bernstein Liebhard
• Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll 
• Labaton Sucharow
• Motley Rice
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd 

Sexual Orientation Discrimination—Law Firm of the Year

• Goldberg & Gage
• Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai
• Wigdor 

Sports Entertainment Media Law—Law Firm of the Year

• Clare Locke
• Rogge Dunn Group

Truck Injury—Law Firm of the Year

• Butler Wooten & Peak
• Caruso Law Offices
• Goudarzi & Young
• Panish Shea & Boyle
• Ray Thomas Law Group

Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar

This year, we are pleased to announce in advance the winners of the 2020 class of Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar. This recognition category celebrates women lawyers who have consistently excelled in high-stakes matters on behalf of plaintiffs across their careers and within the last year. The following lawyers are winners of the 2020 Elite Women of the Plaintiffs’ Bar:

• E. Michelle Drake, Berger Montague
• Hannah Ross, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann 
• Karen Handorf, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll 
• Amy Keller, DiCello Levitt 
• Dena Sharp, Girard Sharp
• Serena Hallowell, Labaton Sucharow
• Carol Villegas, Labaton Sucharow
• Jodi Westbrook Flowers, Motley Rice
• Stacey Slaughter, Robins Kaplan 
• Rachel Black, Susman Godfrey
• Kalpana Srinivasan, Susman Godfrey 

In addition to the category finalists and winners of the Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar, we are pleased to announce the winners of a set of highly coveted awards honoring those who have demonstrated superior contributions to the trial bar on behalf of plaintiffs. 

The Elite Trial Lawyers 2020 Keith Givens Visionary Award This award honors a member of the bar who has shown extraordinary creativity in bringing the legal industry together, developing new opportunities for business growth, and supporting the professional development of attorneys across the country.

Winner: Robert Eglet, Eglet Adams

The 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award

This award recognizes the outstanding trial lawyer who has made a significant impact on the legal community and the practice of law over an entire career. ETL Lifetime Achievers have helped shape the legal industry through visionary leadership and have had an extraordinary impact on society and the profession on behalf of plaintiffs year in and year out.

Winners: Paul J. Hanly Jr., Simmons Hanly Conroy, and Joseph F. Rice, Motley Rice

The 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers MDL Leadership Award

We are pleased to announce a new special award, the 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers MDL Leadership Award. This recognition goes to the firm that has demonstrated extraordinary expertise and leadership in multidistrict litigation, including a high level of professionalism and a continuous track record of success.

Winner: Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor

The Celebratory Event

The 2020 Elite Trial Lawyers awards ceremony will be held as part of the NTL Trial Lawyers Summit. The conference, which will be held Jan. 20-22 at Loews in Miami Beach, Florida, was founded in 2012 to share new methods for enhancing courtroom skills as well as tools to support the management and marketing of member law firms. ETL will be held Jan. 20 during the Trial Lawyers Summit to help participants and NTL members network and benefit from both programs. To learn more about the event, contact Carson Bayer at [email protected] or 334-944-1109.