The Recorder and Law.com’s editorial staff is proud to announce this year’s finalists for the California Legal Awards. The awards celebrate the achievements of lawyers and companies leading technology, innovation and the profession as a whole.
To book tickets or sponsorships, please contact our sales director Andre Sutton at [email protected].
Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees
Richard Heimann, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
John Keker, Keker Van Nest & Peters
Laura Petroff, Winston & Strawn
William C. Price, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Law Firm of the Year Finalists
Covington & Burling
Latham & Watkins
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Orrick
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Attorney of the Year Finalists
Theane Evangelis, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Robert R. Henssler Jr., Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Gary S. Lincenberg, Bird, Marella, Rhow, Lincenberg, Drooks & Nessim
Dealmakers of the Year Finalists
Sarah Axtell, Rick Kline and Tony Richmond, Latham & Watkins
Alan Denenberg, Davis Polk & Wardwell
Minh-Chau Le, Ropes & Gray
Christopher R. Moore, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Robyn Polashuk, Covington & Burling
Kristin Seeger, Orrick
Distinguished Leader Honorees
Hailyn Chen, Munger, Tolles & Olson
George Demos, O’Melveny & Myers
Terrance J. Evans, Duane Morris
Emily Henn, Covington & Burling
Victor Leung, ACLU of Southern California
Michael Mugmon, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Neal Potischman, Davis Polk & Wardwell
Brian C. Rocca, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Charles Ruck, Latham & Watkins
Alex Weingarten, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Donna L. Wilson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Finalists
Jordan Bromley, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Davida Brook, Susman Godfrey
David Eisman, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
James Carlos McFall, Foley & Lardner
Robyn Polashuk, Covington & Burling
Neema Sahni, Covington & Burling
P.J. Shapiro, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole
Blanca Fromm Young, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Environmental, Social, and Governance Initiative Finalists
BraunHagey & Borden
Kirkland & Ellis
Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion Finalists
Atheria Law
Cox, Castle & Nicholson
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Morrison & Foerster
Spencer Fane
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman
Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year Finalists
Paul Andre, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
Yar Chaikovsky, White & Case
Andy Gass, Latham & Watkins
Annette Hurst, Orrick
John Neukom, Debevoise & Plimpton
Michael Ng, Kobre & Kim
Courtland Reichman, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg
Robert Van Nest, Keker, Van Nest & Peters
James Yoon, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Lawyers on the Fast Track Honorees
Michael Adamson, Susman Godfrey
Jalpit Amin, Hogan Lovells
David Belcher, Faegre Drinker
Will Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita
Jay Bhimani, Dechert
Michael Burshteyn, Greenberg Traurig
Daniel Chung, Spencer Fane
Jeremy Cleveland, Jones Day
H. Joseph Drapalski III, Norton Rose Fulbright
Christopher Foster, McDermott Will & Emery
Anderson Franco, Anderson Franco Law
Cydney Swofford Freeman, Davis Wright Tremaine
Christopher P. Hammond, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Brittany Kandela, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Mahru Madjidi, Shegerian & Associates
Libby Moulton, Orrick
Ramela Ohanian, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Brittany Rogers, O’Melveny & Myers
Malhar Shah, American Civil Liberties Union
Jeffrey L. Steinfeld, Winston & Strawn
Collin Vierra, Eimer Stahl
Mentorship Award Finalists
Ed Dudensing, Dudensing Law
Sophia Goring-Piard, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy
Veronika Nemeth, Baker McKenzie
Agustin Orozco, Crowell & Moring
Colleen Smith, Latham & Watkins
Lori Westin, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Dennis Wilson, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Christine Wong, Morrison & Foerster
Most Promising Newcomer Finalists
Soo H. Kim, Baker & Hostetler
Savannah Levin, Foley & Lardner
Matthew W. Linsley, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Isabella Ordorica, Crowell & Moring
Olivia Rosen, Freshfields
Katharine J. Ross, Hueston Hennigan
Annie Wanless, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
Sarah Zandi, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
Office Managing Partner of the Year Finalists
Esther Cho, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young
Gretchen Hoff Varner, Covington & Burling
Ben Hur, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Kristina Lawson, Hanson Bridgett
Jeffrey Margulies, Norton Rose Fulbright
Julie Park, Morrison & Foerster
Gerald Singleton, Singleton Schreiber
Thomas A. Wuchenich, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Real Estate Lawyer of the Year Finalists
Eve A. Brackmann, Munck Wilson Mandala
Jeff Diener, Baker & Hostetler
William Ellis, Akerman
Anita Famili, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Bruce Fischer, Greenberg Traurig
Misty Sanford, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Hilary Strong, Latham & Watkins
Stephen Toohill, Solomon Ward Seidenwurm & Smith
Tech Industry Advisory Team of the Year Finalists
Covington & Burling
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Freshfields
Hogan Lovells
Orrick
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Tech Industry Litigation Department of the Year Finalists
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Irell & Manella
Keker Van Nest & Peters
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Orrick
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Sam Dordulian, Dordulian Law Group
King & Spalding
Michael Rubin and Rene Mendoza, Latham & Watkins
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Women Leaders in Tech Law, Corporate/Transactions Honorees
Aarthi Belani, Baker McKenzie
Claire Hart, Groq Inc.
Bomi Lee, Fenwick
Tessa Schwartz, Morrison & Foerster
Allison Spinner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Women Leaders in Tech Law, Intellectual Property Honorees
Rebecca Carson, Irell & Manella
Margret Caruso, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Betty H. Chen, Desmarais
Rose Ehler, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Jennifer Estremera, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg
Erin Gibson, DLA Piper
Rachael Lamkin, Baker Botts
Arriènne M. Lezak, Polsinelli
Salima Merani, Knobbe Martens
Christine M. Morgan, Reed Smith
Amy Proctor, Irell & Manella
Terri Shieh-Newton, Mintz
Georgina Jones Suzuki, Ropes & Gray
Michelle Ybarra, Keker, Van Nest & Peters
Women Leaders in Tech Law, Litigation Honorees
Simona Agnolucci, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Meredith Dearborn, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Daralyn Durie, Morrison & Foerster
Emily Henn, Covington & Burling
Michele Johnson, Latham & Watkins
Lindsay Llewellyn, Lyft
Sonal N. Mehta, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Erin Meyer, Keker, Van Nest & Peters
Ann Marie Mortimer, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Sarah M. Ray, Latham & Watkins
Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn, Hueston Hennigan
Christine Woodin, Hueston Hennigan
Women Leaders in Tech Law, Regulatory Honorees
Ashlie Beringer, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Cassandra Gaedt-Sheckter, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Beth George, Freshfields
Ann Staggs, Grafana Labs Inc.
Shannon Yavorsky, Orrick
For more information on the awards dinner on June 25, please visit the California Legal Awards event site. To book tickets or sponsorships, please contact our sales director Andre Sutton at [email protected].