Deadline extended: The National Law Journal Awards

It’s that time of year again to apply for The National Law Journal Legal Awards, and this year’s event will include a few new entries to highlight the top work in Washington, D.C.

New this year is a category honoring the top work on Capitol Hill handling crisis management and regulatory oversight. This includes anything involving enforcement actions from government agencies, or guiding a client through congressional oversight hearings. Also, back in the rotation for 2022 is a lifetime achievement award honoring a litigator’s legal legacy in D.C. Additionally, we have a GC impact award to honor the leadership and accomplishments of chief legal officers this past year.

These categories are in addition to our regular annual awards, such as the D.C. Litigation Department of the Year, ESG and Community Impact, Winning Litigators and D.C. Rising Stars.

Please use this link here to get more information on specific awards and to fill out submissions.

For certain categories, we understand it’s been an unusual year for litigation, and that will likely change the substance of submissions. Please tell us what your legal teams did on behalf of clients to address their needs during 2021 even if your most significant cases were not resolved due to pandemic-related delays.

If you have any questions, please contact Pearl Wu at [email protected].

Note: These are descriptions of each category that will give you an idea of what each submission might entail. However, the descriptions do not include the full nomination form and questions. To view all nomination questions, please register for an account and log in.

D.C. Rising Stars

The National Law Journal’s D.C. Rising Stars awards note the Washington, D.C., region’s 40 most promising lawyers age 40 and under as of the submission deadline. Interested in submitting yourself or a colleague? Read on. 

• Geography: To qualify for this awards program, lawyers must work in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. 
• Criteria: We highlight lawyers who have wielded influence in their practice areas in the D.C. area and beyond. They should be innovators who: develop unique practice niches, secure wins for clients, cultivate robust books of business and demonstrate strong leadership qualities. Those qualities will be demonstrated by a combination of expertise in litigation or transactional work and significant community impact (displayed through sustained pro bono service and other public service).
• Deadline: Extended to July 21, 2022

Submission Materials: We ask that you provide the following:

Essay: An essay of no more than 500 words describing why the nominee should be selected. Please address these topics.

1. Describe the accomplishments during the last year that qualify the nominee for our list.
2. What makes the nominee stand out from his or her peers?
3. Describe how the nominee demonstrated leadership—in his or her practice, in the workplace and in the profession.
4. Describe how the nominee contributes to the community through pro bono legal services or other public service.

Biography: A 900-word biography of the nominee, including:

• Employer and location of workplace
• The nominee’s current employment title (as of submission deadline)
• The nominee’s birthdate and age (as of submission deadline)
• The nominee’s educational credentials
• Legal work experience (including dates and employer names)
• Other relevant information (awards, affiliations, significant publications).

Photo: A high-resolution color photo of the nominee. We cannot accept black-and-white photos or thumbnails.

References: Two brief reference notes from lawyers or clients who can speak to the nominee’s legal work and record of accomplishment. (Three hundred fifty words will suffice, but please don’t exceed 500 words for each note.)

Winning Litigators 

The National Law Journal is seeking nominations for its annual special section “Winning Litigators: Profiles of Successful Attorneys and Their Strategies.” Nominees should have at least one significant win in a jury or bench trial between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022. “Significant” wins include prevailing when substantial damages were at stake, setting a legal precedent or overcoming an unfriendly jurisdiction.

The nomination deadline has been extended to July 21, 2022.

Please limit each submission to 800 words. Firms should not send more than two submissions for this contest, and each submission should focus on one litigator (or a maximum of two litigators, if they co-led the case/matter). Please provide two client references with phone and email for each submission.

The winners will be profiled in an upcoming issue of  The National Law Journal, and honored at The National Law Journal awards dinner on Nov. 5 in Washington, D.C. For more information on the awards event, please visit The National Law Journal Legal Awards site.

If you have any questions, please contact Pearl Wu at [email protected].

ESG and Community Impact Leaders:

The National Law Journal seeks nominations for 2022 legal leadership in the field of environmental, social and corporate governance. Winning submissions should focus on the impact of each legal initiative on communities and stakeholders.

To apply:

• Please include a brief overview of the firm’s ESG history and highlights and detailed descriptions of ESG matters and its community impact resolved between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 15, 2022.

• Within these descriptions, please name the lawyers involved and describe the extent of their involvement on matters compared with co-counsel. (Example: Our firm handled roughly 70% of the work on this matter. Our co-counsel handled about 30% of the work.) On matters involving co-counsel, please include their names. Also include the names of opposing counsel and the names and contact information for at least two pro bono clients.

• Word limit: Please limit nominations to no more than 1,800 words. Supporting documents on matters (news clips, etc.) do not count toward the word limit, but we ask that you please limit these supplemental materials to three pages.

• Deadline: Extended to July 21, 2022.

To submit a nomination for ESG and Community Impact category, please click here. You will need to register for an account to access the form. If you have any questions, please contact Pearl Wu at [email protected].

DC Diversity Initiative of the Year

The National Law Journal is now accepting nominations for its Washington, D.C., Diversity Initiative of the Year competition. This competition is open to any law firm with an office in the D.C. metro area.

Overview: The competition focuses on in-house diversity initiatives and their results with external stakeholders.

To apply:

• Please include a brief overview of the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and its application and/or results with outside stakeholders between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 15, 2022. Winning submissions should outline how internal diversity efforts made a difference in working with private sector and government clients or in the courtroom.

• Within these descriptions, please name the lawyers involved and describe the extent of their involvement on matters (i.e., did diverse team members take the lead on a case or initiatives and what were the results?)

• Word limit: Please limit nominations to no more than 1,800 words. Supporting documents on matters (news clips, etc.) do not count toward the word limit, but we ask that you please limit these supplemental materials to three pages.

• Deadline: Extended to July 21, 2022

To submit a nomination for the Diversity Initiative of the Year, please click here. You will need to register for an account to access the form. If you have any questions, please contact Pearl Wu at [email protected].

DC Litigation Department of the Year

The National Law Journal is now accepting nominations for its Washington. D.C., Litigation Departments of the Year competition. The Litigation Departments of the Year competition is open to any law firm with an office in the D.C. metro area.

The competition has two distinct categories:

• A contest to award the top department in general litigation and

• A contest to determine the top specialty practice groups.

• Submit matters led by lawyers from the D.C. metro area. Cases may include those filed or tried in a D.C.-area court and/or those filed or tried outside of the D.C. area (as long as they are led by lawyers from the D.C. area).

• Please fill out separate submissions for the general litigation and specialty practice contests.

• We plan to name winners in each category, but depending on the entrant pool, we may have multiple winners or runners-up in one group and none in another.

Details on Submission Materials

For each contest, we are asking you to submit:

• An overview essay explaining why your firm should win (900 words maximum).
• A list of cases with brief descriptions of their significance (1,500 words maximum).
• A brief description of three upcoming matters at your firm (600 words maximum).

GENERAL LITIGATION CONTEST

Client Matter Listing

• Please describe up to eight litigation results that demonstrate your department’s excellence (1,500 words maximum).
• This list can and should include results obtained pretrial, at trial or on appeal. It may include pro bono cases. Client matter results must have occurred between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021.
• Please rank your top five client matters in terms of importance. By importance, we mean both significance of the result for your client and contribution made by your lawyers. Note: You can rank all the cases if you like, but ranking is only required for the top five.
• Each result must have been achieved by lawyers while they were members of your firm based in your D.C. office. Do not include results achieved by lateral hires while they were working for another firm.
• For each client matter result, please include the names of: 1) clients, 2) lead partners and 3) opposing counsel, as well as contact information for at least two clients per matter.
• Descriptions of results should include specific dollar amounts where relevant, but should focus on why the result demonstrates the excellence of your department.
• For each case, please include a case number and jurisdiction.
• DO NOT SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: All information submitted will be considered on-the-record and included in the evaluation process.
• If your client was represented by more than one firm, please specify your firm’s leadership role and estimate what percentage of client matter work your firm completed versus co-counsel.
• In your submission, please include a firm contact to whom we may contact with questions.

Essay

• Make the case for why your firm should win (900 words maximum)!
• Tell us why you should win. Factors we’re looking for are the importance and difficulty of the matters handled; the quality of opposing counsel; ingenuity and diligence.

Upcoming Matters

• Include a brief description of three upcoming matters for your firm (600 words maximum).

Firm Stats and Client References  

• We’ll also request additional information on: The size of your firm’s litigation department in D.C. and firmwide as of Dec. 31, 2021. (Please specify number of partners, associates and others.)
• The percentage of your entire firm represented by the litigation department in terms of lawyers.
• Describe your firm’s biggest litigation loss in the past two years, with names of opposing counsel.

Questions?

Please contact Pearl Wu, Manager, Recognition Desk, Editorial at [email protected].

SPECIALTY PRACTICE AREA CONTEST

The specialty contest will award departments focused in each of four areas:

• Intellectual Property
• Products Liability/Mass Torts
• Labor and Employment
• White-Collar Defense

You may compete in more than one category. Note: Separate submissions will be expected for each.

Describe up to five litigation results that demonstrate your department’s excellence in this specialty (1,500 words maximum).

• This list should include both trial and appellate work.
• The results must have occurred between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021.
• Each result must have been achieved by lawyers while they were members of your firm based in your D.C. office. Do not include results achieved by lateral hires when they were working for a different firm.
• For each result, please include the names of clients, lead partners and opposing counsel, as well as contact information for all involved whenever possible.
• Descriptions of results should include specific dollar amounts where relevant, but should focus on why the result demonstrates the excellence of your department.
• For each case, please include a case number and jurisdiction.
• PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: All information submitted will be considered on-the-record and included in the evaluation process.
• Note: If your client was represented by more than one firm, please specify your firm’s role.
• In your submission, please name someone at your firm whom we may contact with questions.

Please submit additional information on:

• The size of your firm’s litigation department in D.C. and firmwide as of Dec. 31, 2021. Please specify number of partners, associates and others.
• The percentage of your entire firm represented by the litigation department in terms of lawyers.
• Three to four client references per specialty practice area, including phone numbers or email addresses.
• Describe your firm’s biggest litigation loss in the past two years, with names of opposing counsel.
• A brief description of three upcoming matters for your firm (600 words maximum).

Write an essay explaining why your firm should be a finalist in this specialty area.

• Essay should be no longer than 900 words.
• Tell us why you should win. Factors we’re looking for include importance and difficulty of the matters handled; the quality of opposing counsel; ingenuity and diligence

Questions?

• Please contact Pearl Wu, Manager, Recognition Desk, Editorial at [email protected].

Lifetime Achievement

• The National Law Journal is seeking nominations for our Lifetime Achievement Award. This award will honor an attorney’s career-long accomplishments and impact on the national legal community. Honorees will be recognized at the NLJ awards dinner in November in Washington, D.C.
• Deadline for entries has been extended to July 21, 2022. Please contact Pearl Wu at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Requirements

• In a brief description (400 words or less), please summarize why you think this nominee deserves this award.
• Please include a brief resume/bio (limit: two pages) of the nominee’s career highlights.
• Please include the names of two references, including one that is not in the nominee’s law firm or company, who can speak to the candidate’s impact.

GC Impact 

This award recognizes chief legal officers who, through their effective leadership, had significant accomplishments in 2021. As just a few examples, such accomplishments may include growing the legal department’s head count or expanding the scope of its duties; significantly reducing legal spend or successfully completing a major undertaking such as a corporate merger or acquisition. We’re looking for dynamic leaders who have partnered with their companies and with their outside counsel to find ways to add value and to transform their legal departments from cost centers to business units. Nomination will require a 300-500-word nomination. Full nomination questions will be available on awards portal.

Crisis Management and Government Oversight 

• This award recognizes firms that have guided clients through government proceedings in Washington, D.C. This includes responding to federal investigations or enforcement actions launched by agencies such as the Department of Justice or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or preparing a client to provide testimony to Congress on a topic lawmakers are considering taking action on.

Appellate Hot List

• Nominations are now open for The National Law Journal’s annual “Appellate Hot List.” This special report highlights law firms that have handled exemplary appellate matters. 
• Potential nominees must be able to point to at least one significant appellate win since January 2021 and possess an impressive appellate track record overall. A “significant win” means prevailing before the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal appeals court, or a state court of last resort when an important legal principle was at stake or the stakes were high, financially or otherwise.
• Nominations should include: A short description of the firm’s overall appellate track record (800 words maximum) and the specific case or cases to be considered for the 2022 submission (five pages maximum). Please include an explanation of the firm’s contribution to particular cases (i.e., presented oral arguments, drafted briefs, contributed amici arguments cited by the court) relative to significant co-counsel; and a list of the principal attorneys on a case, with their contact information included.
• The deadline for nominations has been extended to July 21, 2022.